Near Two Harbors, 34 structures burned and Highway 61 closed; in Crow Wing County, a 1,600-acre fire sparked evacuations

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Chinese cellphone maker ZTE Corp. — the target of U.S. sanctions before President Trump ordered an abrupt about-face last month — has reportedly agreed to a preliminary deal to lift a U.S. Commerce Department ban on it buying from American suppliers.

 was originally sanctioned for illegal sales to Iran and North Korea but agreed to take corrective action. When U.S. regulators found that the company had not complied with the terms of the agreement, they cut off ZTE from its U.S. parts suppliers, a move described as a "death sentence" by the company, which employs 70,000 people in China.


However, 

, Trump tweeted that "too many jobs in China" were being lost because of the U.S. action and that he had instructed the Commerce Department to find a solution.



While the Commerce Department on Tuesday said, "no definitive agreement has been signed by both parties," 

, citing sources, says that a tentative deal has been reached:


 reports that ZTE has sent out letters of reprimand to 35 current and former employees involved in the illegal sales to Iran as it sought to claw back bonuses from those responsible individuals who had already left the telecom firm.


According to the Hong Kong-based English-language daily, "The reprimand and forfeiture of bonuses were part of the original settlement that ZTE had reached with the US government. ZTE's failure to comply with these terms triggered the suspended denial order that prohibits American companies from doing business with the Shenzhen-based company, plunging it into crisis. ZTE has also been replacing some of its top executives in a bid to make good on its pledge."


ZTE could not be reached for comment by either Reuters or the 

 that an Indonesian property development firm with ties to Trump was given $500 million in Chinese government loans around the time of the sudden policy change on ZTE, 

leading some to suggest a possible quid pro quo.

 that a day after the president said he wanted to help ZTE, the tech company hired the Mercury Public Affairs firm to lobby on its behalf in Washington. According to the news site, Mercury's consultant on the account is Bryan Lanza, a veteran of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.  Copyright 2019 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Business and Economic News

Politics and Government News

Scott Neuman

Author

The cellphone maker was sanctioned by the Commerce Department for illegal sales to Iran and North Korea. However, President Trump last month said he wanted to resolve the issue to save jobs in China.

China's ZTE reportedly strikes preliminary deal to lift U.S. ban

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox