Putting pressure on Trump, House passes bill barring government from doing business with ZTE

Source: The Hill | May 24, 2018 | John Bowden

The House on Thursday voted to cut off Chinese telecommunications company ZTE from U.S. business dealings, putting pressure on the firm and President Trump.

The measure came as an amendment to the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which passed on a 351-66 vote, according to Bloomberg, would bar the federal government from using ZTE-made technology and would prevent the Defense Department from renewing contracts with vendors who do business with the company.

The move follows just days after a Senate panel overwhelmingly approved an amendment to block the president on ZTE. The Senate Banking Committee rebuked Trump’s efforts to ease sanctions in an overwhelming and bipartisan 23-2 vote.

“If the president and his team won’t follow through on tough sanctions against ZTE, it’s up to Congress to ensure that it happens,” Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement.

“Both parties have come together today to strongly rebuke ZTE and the administration’s soft approach. This critical legislation along with the [Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States] reforms that it was added to are huge steps forward in our fight against the Chinese, and we should pass this legislation on the floor immediately,” he said. The tension between Trump and Congress comes weeks after the president declared his support for ZTE, saying that he supported easing restrictions on the firm as he seeks to hammer out a trade deal.

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