ZTE dived 24% after American lawmakers green-lit a bill to restore severe penalties on the Chinese telecommunications gear maker, potentially up-ending a deal struck with US President Donald Trump to allow it to get back in business.
The company’s Hong Kong shares slid to their lowest since July 2016, while its Shenzhen stock fell below its 10% daily limit on Tuesday. The selloff ensued after the US senate passed legislation on Monday that would restore penalties on the company, complicating Trump’s efforts to ease sanctions on ZTE after it pays a record fine and reshuffles management. A settlement on the issue is also deemed pivotal to tense US-Chinese negotiations over trade.
The wrangling over China’s second largest telecoms equipment maker produced a rare instance of Republicans allying with Democrats to defy Trump. Reinstating a ban on ZTE’s purchases of American technology would cut off access to the chips and components it needs to build smartphones and networking equipment — essentially a death sentence.
“This is the first time congress has really stood up to him on a trade issue, and it’s clear they are angry,” said Bill Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. “There will be a lot of congressional resistance to weakening the ZTE amendment, but I would not be surprised to see a compromise.”
The bipartisan measure, part of a defence bill, passed 85-10 and came two days before Trump was to host Republican members of congress to discuss ways that would allow ZTE to get back into business.
Trump’s agreement with ZTE was struck after the US in April blocked its access to US suppliers, saying it had broken a sanctions settlement and then lied about it. That prompted the company to declare its operations were grinding to a halt just weeks later. A settlement was deemed a key Chinese demand as the world’s two largest economies try to avoid a trade war and negotiate the denuclearisation of North Korea. After a personal plea from Chinese President Xi Jinping to help the company get back into business, Trump last month instructed the commerce department to find a solution to save ZTE.
The Trump administration wants legislators to modify the senate language on ZTE in the defence bill, once the house and senate begin work to merge their versions of the legislation. Lawmakers hope to wrap up negotiations by the end of July. Commerce secretary Wilbur Ross and treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin in recent weeks have tried to persuade lawmakers of the administration’s approach to ZTE, but legislators said the deal failed to address their national security concerns.
“We’ve articulated our desire to better educate members about the ZTE action by commerce, and we expect to address it in conference,” White House legislative liaison Marc Short said last week. “We think we can fix it in conference,” Short added, referring to the process when differences in house and senate bills are reconciled. — (c) 2018 Bloomberg LP
