US senators negotiate with Trump to lift ban on ZTE if it is saddled with security restrictions
The deal with Trump could ban ZTE hardware from critical assets, with US government employees prohibited from buying the Chinese firm’s products
US senators are working on a potential deal with President Donald Trump that would allow the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp to stay in business if there are tighter restrictions on the use of its products on national security grounds, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.
The changes, which would be made to an amendment in a defence appropriations bill approved by the Senate last week, include prohibiting US government agencies from buying ZTE products, according to the people, who asked not to be named because they are not authorised to speak publicly on the matter.
The senators’ deal with Trump, the sources said, would also ban ZTE from selling software or hardware in the US that could be used in critical technology or infrastructure assets.
Such assets would be defined by a new Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act, or FIRRMA, also part of the defence appropriations bill.
In exchange, senators would no longer seek to reinstate the original ban that the US Department of Commerce applied to ZTE in April, the sources said.
