US temporarily lifts ban on ZTE while lawmakers’ debate on its punishment continues
The Chinese telecoms giant is allowed to resume doing business with its American suppliers until August 1
The Trump administration has temporarily lifted part of a ban it had placed on ZTE Corp, allowing the Chinese telecommunications giant resume some of its business activities while the Congress continues to weigh penalties on the company.
The release by the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security takes effect immediately and runs through the end of the month. Under the temporary authorisation, ZTE is allowed to resume receiving shipments from its American suppliers, according to a BIS announcement published on its website on Tuesday.
The authorisation allows ZTE to resume transactions with its US suppliers for its networks and equipment businesses as well as necessary transactions to provide services to its phones, including software updates and patches, according to the BIS announcement.
Since April, when the department issued its sanctions against ZTE for violating US trade law by selling products to Iran and North Korea, ZTE had been prohibited from buying electronics components from its American suppliers.