US officially lifts ban on Chinese telecom giant ZTE

by Harper Neidig - 07/13/18 3:56 PM ET

The Trump administration on Friday officially lifted the ban on U.S. companies selling to Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE after it reached an agreement to revive the business.

That agreement came amid a wave of criticism from Republican lawmakers and followed years of warnings about ZTE from the intelligence community.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross insisted that the lifting of the ban only came after severe sanctions.

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“While we lifted the ban on ZTE, the Department will remain vigilant as we closely monitor ZTE’s actions to ensure compliance with all U.S. laws and regulations,” Ross said in a statement.

The Department of Commerce imposed the ban in April, alleging that ZTE had lied about its response to its own violations of sanctions on North Korea and Iran.

The new agreement requires ZTE to pay $1.4 billion in penalties. Commerce said in its announcement that the company had transferred $400 million to a U.S. bank on Friday.

Tags Wilbur Ross