Coming soon to a theatre near Syria
What did ZTE do?
This all stems from ZTE selling US-origin equipment to Iran. The company reached a settlement in March 2017 with the Commerce Department and Treasury Department for $1.19 billion and the promise to terminate several employees and punish others.
ZTE disclosed earlier this year that while it had gotten rid of several employees, the company hadn't properly reduced the bonuses of some workers, or issued letters of reprimand. The inaction wasn't consistent with a progress report ZTE issued in July. It's because of those false statements that the Commerce Department decided to act.
There wasn't a grand scheme to mislead the US government, the person said, blaming a process failure with human resources and the lack of follow-up by leadership. ZTE has since doled out the appropriate penalties.
Jacobson is skeptical about that the argument will sway the Commerce Department. The other problem is the appeal is reviewed by the same agency that first handed out the punishment, so the information won't be seen by fresh eyes or another agency, he noted.
"Its options are limited," he said.
When the Commerce Department alerted ZTE that it was considering the denial order, the company had asked for 45 days to investigate and provide a report about the failure, to be submitted April 30.
The denial order was issued April 15.
https://www.cnet.com/news/despite-paralyzing-us-commerce-department-ban-zte-is-still-fighting-for-its-life/