New twist from Donald Trump. The American president announced via Twitter that he had given instructions to remove the veto against Zte. The Chinese telephony giant had been forced to interrupt its activities in the US after the Washington Department of Commerce had banned supplies by American companies to the Asian giant, guilty of maintaining relations with Iran and North Korea. The decision, taken by Trump after a talk with Xi Jinping, marks a new step on the road to détente with Pyongyang.
President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give the massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!
- Donald J. Trump (@ realDonaldTrump) 13 May 2018
“President Xi and I – writes Trump – are working together to guarantee the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE a way to quickly return to its business. Too many jobs are being lost in China."
In detail, last April the US Commerce Department had issued a ban that prevented American companies from selling irreplaceable components and technologies to ZTE for the next seven years. This was despite the Chinese manufacturer paying a $900 million fine in March for selling products containing US technology to states affected by US trade sanctions, such as Iran and North Korea.
The backtrack decided by Trump is probably aimed at relaxing relations between the United States and China, which in recent weeks have introduced a series of reciprocal tariffs, fueling the fear that a a real trade war.
Moreover, the veto on ZTE would also have seriously damaged the 211 American companies (including Intel, Alphabet and Qualcomm) which in 2017 sold goods and services to the Chinese giant for 2,3 billion dollars.
The stop to the American ban will allow ZTE to restart with production in the USA, which was interrupted a few days ago. A stop that had aroused fears among analysts of repercussions also on activities in Europe. ZTE in Italy is committed to an investment plan of 600 million. Among the commitments envisaged, there is the one with Wind3 for the 5G network, precisely the one on which Iliad, the French group that announced its landing in Italy with Free, the operator that charges very aggressive and competitive prices, would have relied .
