Republicans drop efforts at sanctions

Bars government agencies and contractors from doing business with ZTE

WASHINGTON: US Senate Republicans dropped their effort to reimpose tough sanctions on Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE, a move Democrats lambasted as capitulating to President Donald Trump and his negotiating strategy with Beijing. ZTE had been slapped with commerce department penalties that barred US firms from doing business with the smartphone-making giant. But the Trump administration had earlier ordered an end to the penalties. Senators had drafted an amendment that reimposes the strict sanctions. But the House version of the legislation did not block Trump’s agreement with ZTE. It barred government agencies and contractors from doing business with ZTE but allowed the company to keep working with private American firms.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 22^nd, 2018.

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