Days after the US Department of Commerce imposed sanctions on ZTE, the Chinese telecom equipment maker has released a statement, saying it won’t accept the ‘unfair’ penalties, and would seek legal action ‘if required’ to get the decision overturned.
The US Department of Commerce had earlier this week banned American companies from selling components to ZTE for a period of seven years after the Chinese telecom giant allegedly broke an agreement to discipline employees who were blamed for illegally shipping goods to countries under US trade embargo.
In its statement, ZTE argues that the US Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ‘unfairly’ imposed the severe penalty without even completing its investigations. The company also disagrees with the notion that it did not punish its guilty employees, saying that it has taken stringent steps against employees responsible for breaking the embargo.
“It is unacceptable that BIS insists on unfairly imposing the most severe penalty on ZTE even before the completion of investigation of facts, ignoring the continuous diligent work of ZTE and the progress we have made on export compliance”
ZTE further claims that the decision will “not only severely impact the survival and development of ZTE, but will also cause damages to all partners of ZTE including a large number of US companies”.
For now, ZTE says it will work towards overturning the ban in the coming days. According to the company, it will try to resolve the issue through communication at first, but if required, will take ‘judicial measures’ to protect the rights and interests of its employees and shareholders.
