US to Provide Temporary Trade Sanction Relief to China’s ZTE Corp

The US government plans to temporarily lift trade sanctions against China’s ZTE Corp., apparently, easing a source of tension between Washington and Beijing. The US slapped trade sanctions on the telecommunications supplier earlier in March, citing evidence ZTE violated restrictions on exporting American technological goods to Iran and other nations. “As part of the effort to resolve the matter, and based upon binding commitments that ZTE has made to the US government, Commerce expects this week to be able to provide temporary relief from some licensing requirements,” a senior Commerce official said. The official characterized talks with the company as “active” and “constructive.” But the official also emphasized that removal from a blacklist “would be temporary in nature and would be maintained only if ZTE is abiding by its commitments to the US government.” Additional details of the agreement weren’t immediately available. But the official expects more specific information to be revealed when it is published in the Federal Register.