US fines Chinese telecom manufacturer $1.192b for trading with North Korea and Iran
The US Departments of Justice and Commerce announced that they had imposed a fine of $1.192b on Chinese telecom supplier ZTE (763.HK) for violating US sanctions against North Korea and Iran by buying products from US companies such as Qualcomm (QCOM) and Micron (MU) and reselling them to both sanctioned countries. The DOJ indicated that while ZTE, the 4th largest telecom company worldwide and the 2nd largest in China, tried to conceal its activities, it has agreed to pay the fines, which are the largest ever levied for sanction violations.
"Imposing the fine corresponds to send the world a warning that the game is over," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. "Countries that ignore economic sanctions and export control laws will not be able to avoid punishment and suffer from the most severe consequences. Under the leadership of US President Trump, we will aggressively enforce strong trade policies for two goals -- US security and the protection of American workers."
However the timing of the DOJ release follows the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, which has drawn the ire of China, who says it could be used against the country, and speculation that further fines on Chinese companies (particularly Huawei (pvt)) might follow seem to indicate that the US administration will continue to put economic pressure on China to have them back away from their tacit defense of North Korea. It would seem that the pit bulls are in the ring and baring teeth. No blood has been drawn yet, but the battle has just started.
"Imposing the fine corresponds to send the world a warning that the game is over," US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said. "Countries that ignore economic sanctions and export control laws will not be able to avoid punishment and suffer from the most severe consequences. Under the leadership of US President Trump, we will aggressively enforce strong trade policies for two goals -- US security and the protection of American workers."
However the timing of the DOJ release follows the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea, which has drawn the ire of China, who says it could be used against the country, and speculation that further fines on Chinese companies (particularly Huawei (pvt)) might follow seem to indicate that the US administration will continue to put economic pressure on China to have them back away from their tacit defense of North Korea. It would seem that the pit bulls are in the ring and baring teeth. No blood has been drawn yet, but the battle has just started.
RSS Feed