US senators oppose deal to remove ban on ZTE, see it as a security threat

Republican and Democratic US senators said on Thursday they want the government to reinstate penalties on ZTE Corp, despite a Trump administration agreement paving the way for an end of a ban on the Chinese telecommunications company. Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Tom Cotton and Roy Blunt and Democrats Chris Van Hollen, Mark Warner and Bill Nelson told leaders of the armed services committees of both the Senate and the House of Representatives that they strongly oppose the Commerce Department's deal with ZTE. Many US lawmakers, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, view ZTE as a national security threat, worrying that the use of its technology in the United States could make it easier for China to steal secrets. Commerce on Wednesday said it signed an agreement with ZTE, China's No. 2 telecommunications maker, paving the way for it to resume operations after a nearly three-month ban on doing business with American suppliers.