US President Donald Trump said the US government will allow ZTE to restart its business, after it pays another large fine and changes its management. In a tweet on 26 May, Trump said: "I closed it down then let it reopen with high level security guarantees, change of management and board, must purchase US parts and pay a USD 1.3 billion fine."
People familiar with the matter told Bloomberg that the Trump administration had already outlined such a deal to members of Congress. Under the deal, ZTE would hire American compliance officers to monitor its operations, the report said. Once ZTE complies, the Commerce Department will lift the order banning exports from US suppliers to the Chinese company.
The proposed deal may still face opposition from members of the US Congress. Senators such as Marco Rubio, Chuck Schumer and Mark Warner criticised Trump's proposal, saying he was underestimating the national security interests at stake. On 25 May, the Senate released a defense policy bill containing a provision requiring Trump, before making any ZTE deal, to certify with Congress that ZTE hasn’t violated US law for the past year and is cooperating with US investigations.
