(Bloomberg) — A federal judge ordered the Pentagon to give Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. a reprieve from a law that caused all of its lobbyists to drop it while she considers its constitutionality in a case set to test the ability of the US government to restrict Chinese companies’ activities.

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Washington’s most powerful lobbying firms rushed to cut ties with Chinese tech giants including Alibaba as a new US law took effect last week targeting companies allegedly aiding the Chinese military, Bloomberg News previously reported.

The restriction bars the Defense Department from working with any company represented by lobbyists who also work for entities blacklisted by the Pentagon for their alleged ties to the Chinese armed forces. In practice, the provision forced lobbyists to choose between representing the Chinese companies and US defense contractors, causing them to abandon the former.

A federal judge in the Northern District of California overseeing the matter on Sunday ordered the Pentagon not to treat Alibaba as a Chinese military company with respect to the lobbying restriction only until she resolves a motion by the company on the matter or until 60 days after the court holds a hearing on that motion, whichever occurs first.

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