ZTE ban likely to stay in Defence Bill, Republican Mac Thornberry says
Regardless of an agreement that may be struck by the administration and Beijing, House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to prevent the company from getting information that the US doesn’t want China to have, Mac Thornberry said
Any deal President Donald Trump strikes with China over ZTE Corp’s ability to tap the US market isn’t likely to apply to government agencies, according to a key Republican lawmaker.
House Armed Services Committee chairman Mac Thornberry said on Tuesday that he doesn’t “see a growing movement in the House” to remove language in the Defence Authorisation Bill that would ban government agencies from using technology made by China’s second-largest manufacturer of telecommunications gear.
ZTE became a flashpoint in US-China relations after the administration crippled the company by cutting it off from US suppliers for allegedly violating terms of a 2017 sanctions settlement, then lying about it.
But in what appeared to be a step back from the crisis, Trump this week unexpectedly ordered the Commerce Department to help get the Shenzhen-based company back in business, saying “too many jobs in China lost”.
Regardless of an agreement that may be struck by the administration and Beijing, House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle want to prevent the company from getting information that the US doesn’t want China to have, Thornberry said.