Senate rider would block ZTE deal

WASHINGTON — The Senate plans to challenge President Donald Trump’s pledge to lift certain restrictions against Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE by including a measure in the annual defense bill that would effectively block the deal from being implemented.

The bipartisan amendment would reimpose penalties on ZTE for violating U.S. sanctions against exporting to Iran and North Korea, which the Trump administration sought to lift in exchange for the company paying a $1 billion fine and funding an inhouse compliance team of U.S. officials. It would also ban U.S. government agencies from purchasing any devices or services from ZTE or Huawei, another major Chinese telecom firm, or using government loans to subsidize any subsidiaries or affiliates of the two companies.

“It’s only prudent that no one in the federal government use their equipment or services and that they receive no taxpayer dollars,” said Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., one of the chief authors of the amendment. “Given their repeated violations of U.S. law, we cannot trust them to respect U.S. national security, and so it’s vital we hold them accountable and pass this amendment.”

Trump has come under criticism from members of his own party, on both economic and national security grounds, over his efforts to help ZTE.

“These companies have direct links to the Chinese government and Communist Party. Their products and services are used for espionage and intellectual property theft,” said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.

Cotton; Rubio; Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.; and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., filed their amendment Monday to include it in the annual mustpass defense bill.

Chinese leaders have said ZTE would collapse without a deal to relax U.S. sanctions that bar it from buying any American-made parts.