US House passes defence bill while keeping a wary eye on Chinese investments
The US$716 billion budget bill prohibits the US government, including the Pentagon, from using products from the Chinese telecoms company ZTE
The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed a US$716 billion defence appropriations bill that includes language to tighten regulations on Chinese investments in the United States and prohibit the US government from buying products from major Chinese telecoms firms, including ZTE.
The John S. McCain National Defence Authorisation Act passed the House by a vote of 359-54. It goes now to the Senate for its approval before being sent to President Donald Trump to sign into law.
The measure restricts government agencies, including the military, from using products and services by ZTE and Huawei Technologies because of national security concerns, but the limits were greatly reduced from what had been initially drafted.
Some senators backed down last week from their attempt to reimpose a ban the Commerce Department originally put on ZTE in April, stemming from the company’s violations of US business law by selling products to US-sanctioned Iran and North Korea.
That ban kept ZTE, the second largest telecommunications equipment maker in China, from buying components from American suppliers, including the chip maker Qualcomm, for seven years – a move that led to ZTE closing major operations.
