Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross suggested Monday that the administration would address a recently imposed sales ban on telecommunications firm ZTE Corp. separately from a trade dispute between the U.S. and China.
A day earlier, President Trump weighed in on behalf of ZTE, saying on Twitter that he had ordered the Commerce Department to find a solution to the standoff, which had prompted the firm to halt business in the U.S.
The department’s Bureau of Industry and Security in April imposed a seven-year ban on the sale of products or software to ZTE by any U.S. company, asserting that the firm had made false statements to U.S. regulators in the aftermath of sanctions over violations of a U.S. trade embargo against Iran.
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White House deputy press secretary Lindsey Walters said after Trump’s tweet that Ross will exercise “his independent judgment, consistent with applicable laws and regulations, to resolve the regulatory action involving ZTE, based on its facts.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that a deal was close between the U.S. and China to lift the sales ban. In exchange, China would reportedly not impose a number of recently announced tariffs on U.S. agriculture products.
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Commerce Secretary reconsiders ZTE ban "very promptly" after Trump tweet https://t.co/KrAwZfTbFt pic.twitter.com/fWj7haLgiJ
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 14, 2018
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