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ZTE shut down its main business operations back in May of this year, following a U.S. export ban of goods to the company.
That ban was initially supposed to stick around for seven years, following decisions made by ZTE’s executive staff not to follow through with agreements made to the United States government, and, specifically, the U.S. Commerce Department. However, since the initial ban, the United States and Chinese governments have been in talks, working out a way to get ZTE back in business. Even the current President of the United States said he was working to get ZTE back in business “fast”.
And it looks like the Commerce Department has worked something out, as was reported today by Reuters. According to unnamed sources, there has been an agreement in principle signed, and that, right now, the next step is to sign an amended settlement agreement between the two entities.
“The Commerce Department plans to amend its settlement agreement from last year and count the $361 million ZTE paid as a part of that, allowing the U.S. to claim a total penalty of as much as $1.7 billion, sources said.
Over the weekend, ZTE signed the agreement in principle drawn up by the United States, but the amended settlement agreement has not yet been signed, sources said.”
Nothing is official just yet, but it does at least appear that ZTE will be back in business soon. Of course, any part of this could fall apart before that happens, so if you’re a ZTE fan, tread lightly for now, but stay hopeful.
[via Reuters]
