Following an unusual intervention by the White House, the Department of Commerce has reversed export restrictions prohibiting Chinese telecom firm ZTE from purchasing U.S.-made hardware and software. Commerce levied the sanctions in March, after ZTE failed to comply with an earlier settlement and fine imposed amid allegations the firm was doing business with sanctioned companies. The ban would have prevented ZTE from buying Qualcomm computer chips and using Google’s Android operating system.
Instead, ZTE now will pay $1 billion on top of $892 million in penalties it has already paid to the U.S. under the earlier agreement, and put $400 million in an escrow account, bringing ZTE’s penalty total to $2.29 billion. Additionally, ZTE will allow the U.S. to oversee its compliance program for 10 years.