Chinese Tech Company ZTE Corp. Manages To Lift US Ban

In a landmark decision for ZTE, it received word that the US had agreed to lift its ban on business deals regarding imports and concessions with US suppliers.

Reuters reports that the ban, already at three months long, will be removed after ZTE deposits an agreed upon amount of $400 million in an account set in escrow. The US Commerce Department is overseeing the escrow agreement, with both parties signing their agreement in.

The ban was a major one for ZTE because it disrupted their operations. With a trade feud already in place, the ban was another issue that Washington and Beijing had to resolve. The announcement, perhaps, was also a step in the right direction towards eventually resolving other feuds already ongoing between the US and China.

Legislators Working to Keep Ban

US senators lobbied hard against Congressional plans to veto US president Donald Trump's deal. According to Bloomberg, lifting the ban would save ZTE, as China had told the US. The House and the Senate are currently in discussions whether or not to impose the ban again in accordance with the defense policy bill.

Republican senators, led by Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton-a staunch Trump ally-is fully in support of re-imposing and keeping the ban. They urged the Congress to echo their decision, the Senate defense committee included.

The export ban was put in place after North Korea and Iran violated sanctions that were agreed upon.

ZTE Back on the Rise

ZTE has plans once the ban is lifted. The 80,000-strong company is to resume normal operations, although it may have come too late.

Once the ban is lifted, they will have a new problem to face-the Trump administration's imposition of the 10 percent tariff on about $200 billion of Chinese exports. This includes products that ZTE produces and exports to the US.

While the deal is seen as a positive by some, it remains to be seen how Trump will navigate appeasing both the House and Beijing. While he may have given ZTE the green light to operate again, he must also give concessions to keep the Senate and the Congress at ease.