The U.S. Commerce Department has lifted its ban on U.S. companies doing business with Chinese phone and telecom equipment maker ZTE.
The company can now resume operations, after all but shutting down since April due to the ban. The company is highly dependent on U.S. companies, including Qualcomm and Google, for its smartphone chips and software.
The deal to lift the ban was done at the instruction of President Trump, and includes a $1 billion fine and a complete change of ZTE leadership.
Today’s action marks the end of a years-long ordeal which started when ZTE was caught selling equipment to North Korea and Iran in violation of a U.S. embargo.
