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Senate Votes To Reinstate ZTE Ban That's Nearly Shut Down the Company (theverge.com)
The U.S. Senate has voted to reinstate a ban on ZTE that prevents the Chinese telecom company from buying U.S. components and using U.S. software. As The Verge notes, "it's still not clear if the reversal will make it into law: it has to clear a conference with the House, and then avoid a veto from President Trump, who advocated for cutting a deal that would lift the ban." From the report: ZTE was hit with the trade ban by the U.S. Commerce Department in April after failing to following through with a punishment for violating sanctions on Iran and North Korea. That ban essentially shut down ZTE, which relies on U.S. parts like Qualcomm processors. Shortly thereafter, Trump said he would cut a deal to revive the company, and a deal was reached -- with additional penalties that the department said were uniquely stringent -- earlier this month.
But senators on both sides of the aisle immediately threatened to stop the deal and reinstate the ban, citing ZTE as a national security risk. And ultimately, a bipartisan group worked to get legislation introduced. The Senate voted 85 to 10 in support of reinstating the ban. It was included as an amendment on the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass piece of legislation that has already moved through the House.
But senators on both sides of the aisle immediately threatened to stop the deal and reinstate the ban, citing ZTE as a national security risk. And ultimately, a bipartisan group worked to get legislation introduced. The Senate voted 85 to 10 in support of reinstating the ban. It was included as an amendment on the National Defense Authorization Act, a must-pass piece of legislation that has already moved through the House.
Yeah, they still haven't quite figured that out yet. They figured buying the President was good enough. I'd imagine that's how it works in China--you just have to buy the top person.
Personally, I think this is just a fig-leaf for the elections. "My opponent is campaigning against me by saying that I'm Donald Trump's water-boy. Well, I'm tough--I stood up to the President on this random issue." Of course, nothing will actually happen with this bill before the election. After the election, assuming the Senator gets re-elected, they'll just drop the whole thing...
Nah. You need to pay more attention to the news.
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85-10 is pretty squarely in the "override veto" territory.
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