The Trump administration has handed ZTE an olive branch, according to sources cited by the New York Times and Reuters.
The Commerce Department has brokered a deal that will allow ZTE to resume operations as long as it agrees to pay a substantial fine, submit to American compliance officers, and wholly change is management team.
If ZTE abides by these terms, the Commerce Department will lift its ban preventing U.S. companies from supplying ZTE with hardware and software. The Commerce Department socked ZTE with the ban last month after it discovered the company misrepresented actions concerning a previous settlement agreement.
The Trump administration has been back-and-forth concerning ZTE’s fate over the last week and did not confirm the details of its recent trade meetings with China.
Some U.S. lawmakers are not convinced ZTE should be allowed to resume operations and have been vocal in their opposition to any deal that sees ZTE allowed to buy U.S. technology.
