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With Trump undermining their efforts, Senators drop bid to reimpose sanctions on ZTE
July 07, 2025
Back in June, we told you about a group of senators – both Republican and Democrat – who wanted to put language into an annual defense bill that wouldreimpose sanctions placed on ZTEby the U.S. Commerce Department.
But since President Donald Trump effectively thwarted that planby lifting the sanctions on the Chinese smartphone company, the rogue senators have thrown in the towel and removed the language from the defense bill, perThe Washington Post.
This represents a clear win for President Trump, albeit a confusing one. It’s hard to congratulate him on effectively saving a Chinese company from bankruptcy while he simultaneouslyimposes debilitating tariffs on Chinese commerce.
Although the team of senators removed language from the defense bill that would have barredZTEfrom working with all American companies, language still remains that bars any government contracts with ZTE. The annual defense bill usually passes through the House and Senate smoothly, so it is likely that law will come into effect soon.
However, it appears that ZTE is completely in-the-clear now after being caught red-handed violating international trade agreements, lying about it, and then attempting to hide additional illegal activity.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) released a statement today condemning Trump’s actions in saving ZTE:
Although Trump should be hailed as a hero by the Chinese government for stepping in to help ZTE, you wouldn’t know it by the fact that a full-on trade war is developing between China and the U.S. Just today, Trump suggested he is readyto impose tariffs on every single productthat enters the U.S. from China, which would dramatically alter not only the tech industry, but pretty much every American business.
NEXT:Why did Trump stop the Broadcom-Qualcomm deal?
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