U.S. Lifts Ban on ZTE After $1.4 Billion Penalty

The U.S. Commerce Department has lifted the ban on American firms selling products to China’s ZTE, removing the final hurdle for the company to start rebuilding its business, according to Bloomberg.

The ban was removed after ZTE paid the final tranche of a $1.4 billion penalty by placing $400 million in escrow at a U.S. bank, the department said in an emailed statement on Friday. That sum comes in addition to $892 million in penalties the telecommunications-equipment maker has paid to the U.S. government after pleading guilty to violating sanctions, it said.

Removing the ban on ZTE was a key Chinese government demand amid escalating tensions between the world’s two largest economies. While those talks have stalled since the last high-level meeting in June, the U.S. and China have indicated their willingness to go back to the negotiating table. Neither is saying exactly what that would take.

A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers remains concerned about ZTE’s threat to U.S. national security and is pushing for legislation aimed at restoring harsher penalties.