Member of Congress have reportedly been told President Donald Trump's administration has reached an agreement to put Chinese telecom giant ZTE Corp. back in business.
Reports from the New York Times and Reuters said the deal brokered by the Commerce Department would require ZTE to pay a substantial fine, place American compliance officers at the firm and change its current management team.
In return, the Commerce Department would lift the denial order banning ZTE from buying American products, which has crippled the company.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced the denial order last month, claiming ZTE made false statements about employee disciplinary actions related to the illegal shipping of telecom equipment to Iran and North Korea.
In a post on Twitter, Senator Marco Rubio, R-Fla., indicated the administration has a "deal in mind" and called it a great deal for ZTE and China.
"China crushes U.S. companies with no mercy & they use these telecomm companies to spy & steal from us," Rubio tweeted. "Many hoped this time would be different. Now congress will need to act."
Other lawmakers have also been critical of a potential agreement to save ZTE, noting intelligence agencies have warned the company's technology and phones pose a major cybersecurity threat.
The New York Times noted the potential agreement is seen as part of an effort to win trade concessions from China, including purchases of agriculture and energy products.
Trump has highlighted the fact that ZTE buys a tremendous amount of equipment from American companies and claimed an agreement to revive the company would be just a small component of an overall trade deal with China.
(Photo: Gage Skidmore)
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