The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) has imposed a denial of export privileges against Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment Corporation (ZTE) of China.
The ban prohibits companies or individuals from participating in any way in an export transaction with ZTE. The order prohibits “Carrying on negotiations concerning, or ordering, buying, receiving, using, selling, delivering, storing, disposing of, forwarding, transporting, financing, or otherwise servicing in any way, any transaction involving any item exported or to be exported from the United States that is subject to the Regulations.”
“ZTE made false statements to the U.S. Government when they were originally caught and put on the Entity List, made false statements during the reprieve it was given, and made false statements again during its probation… Instead of reprimanding ZTE staff and senior management, ZTE rewarded them. This egregious behavior cannot be ignored,” said Secretary of Commerce Ross.
In a press statement, ZTE said it is aware of the denial order activated by the United States Department of Commerce and that it is currently assessing the full range of potential implications.
https://www.commerce.gov/sites/commerce.gov/files/zte_denial_order.pdf
U.S. Dept. of Commerce Ruling Hits ZTE and Suppliers
The U.S. Department of Commerce has added ZTE to the list of entities involved in “activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States.”
The Export Administration Regulations (EAR) listing, which limits the availability of most license exceptions on U.S. technology sales to ZTE, was driven by a finding that ZTE willingly resold restricted U.S. technology products to Iran during the period of economic sanctions,
The move could block U.S. semiconductor companies from selling to ZTE, potentially impacting a wide range of networking gear and mobile devices.
ZTE said it is working expeditiously towards resolution of this issue and that it is fully committed to compliance with the laws and regulations of the jurisdictions in which it operates.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2016-05104.pdf
FBI Opens Criminal Investigation into ZTE Shipments to Iran
The FBI has opened a criminal investigation into whether ZTE shipped U.S.-made networking components and surveillance equipment to Iran. According to various news sources, including Reuters, The Washington Post and The Smoking Gun, various documents have emerged, including a shipping manifest, related to a $130 million sales contract between ZTE and the Telecommunications Company of Iran. Equipment reportedly includes systems from Cisco, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Juniper, Microsoft, Oracle and Symantec.
