Us department of commerce： there is no room for negotiation on ZTE’s lock-up order. Refuse to comment on Huawei.

　　In the early morning of April 20th, Beijing time, the press officer of the U.S. Department of Commerce said in a telephone interview with The Paper that there is no room for reversal or negotiation of ZTE’s ban at present, and it will be strictly seven years before negotiations can be resumed.

　　Will Reinert, press officer of the US Department of Commerce, said in an interview with The Paper that the ban will take effect immediately, and there is no room for reversal or negotiation at present. "This is a seven-year ban." He added. In other words, it will be strictly seven years before negotiations can be resumed.

　　Prior to this, on April 16th, the US Department of Commerce announced the activation of the refusal order, prohibiting American enterprises from selling all products to ZTE for seven years, and the ban took effect immediately.

　　For ZTE, which relies on the United States for its core components, this is tantamount to taking a drastic measure.

　　American chip giant Intel has announced that it will implement the US government’s ban.

　　Not only the chip giant, but also Google’s mobile operating system Android may join the ranks of ZTE.

　　When The Paper asked Reinert if ZTE would not be able to use the software of American companies, including Android, he confirmed this and emphasized "any software" in the ban.

　　When asked about Google’s attitude towards this, Reinert said: "They are bound by our export management laws and must not violate this regulation, and their export licenses will not be approved (if they want to export software to ZTE)." And this is "effective immediately".

　　However, to this day, the biggest "reason" for the ban on ZTE issued by the US Department of Commerce — — It is still controversial to accuse ZTE of failing to punish 35 employees by reducing bonuses or condemning them as promised.

　　On April 20, ZTE issued a statement saying that the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce made a decision to activate the refusal orders against ZTE and ZTE Kangxun on the grounds that ZTE failed to deduct bonuses and issue disciplinary letters to some employees in time and made false statements in two letters submitted to the US government. This move ignores ZTE’s hard work, huge investment and great progress in complying with export control compliance in the past two years; Ignoring the problems in the above two letters was discovered by the company’s self-examination and promptly notified; Ignoring the company, the responsible person who may have been negligent was dealt with at the first time, and the problem was quickly corrected, and an authoritative American law firm was hired to conduct an independent investigation. Before the relevant investigation is over, the Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce insists on imposing the most severe sanctions on the company, which is extremely unfair to ZTE, and we can’t accept it!

　　It is worth mentioning that when a reporter from The Paper asked Will Reinert, the press officer of the US Department of Commerce, he didn’t seem very sure. At the beginning, he said to The Paper: "I am interested in ‘ 35 employees ’ This clause is unclear, but I know there is ‘ Fired four executives ’ This one. "

　　After being pressed by The Paper, Reinert left the phone for about 2 minutes. After verification, he replied to The Paper: "This is one of the contents of the agreement signed by them (ZTE)."

　　Reinert declined to comment on whether other China companies such as Huawei will face similar investigations.

　　When talking about "this ban on ZTE will eventually damage American companies including ZTE suppliers", he did not respond positively, but said that this is a "national security issue."

　　The following is a transcript of a conversation between a reporter from The Paper and Will Reinert, press officer of the US Department of Commerce:

　　The US Department of Commerce said that there is no room for reversal or negotiation of ZTE’s ban at present.

　　Interview record:

　　The Paper:In the settlement agreement signed by ZTE in 2017, is it clear that it is mandatory to "fire four senior executives and punish another 35 employees by reducing bonuses or condemnation"?

　　Press officer of the US Department of Commerce:I’m not clear about the clause of "35 employees", but I know that there is a clause of "dismissing four executives".

　　The Paper:However, in its latest statement, the US Department of Commerce made it clear that ZTE’s failure to "punish or reduce the bonus of 35 employees" was a big mistake. Does this clause exist in the 2017 agreement?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Wait a minute. (Leave for about 2 minutes) Yes, this (punishing or reducing the bonus of 35 employees) is one of the contents of the agreement they signed.

　　The Paper:Clearly written in the 2017 agreement document?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Yes, it is this document that they signed. (It should refer to the letter submitted by ZTE)

　　The Paper:Has the ban on ZTE come into effect?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Yes, effective immediately.

　　The Paper:Is there any room for reversing this ban? Is there room for negotiation?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Not at present. (Not at this time.) This is a seven-year ban.

　　The Paper:Is this my correct understanding: strictly speaking, it will take seven years before the negotiations can be resumed?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Correct.

　　The Paper:According to the ban issued by the US Department of Commerce in April, ZTE shall not "participate in any transaction involving the import and export of goods, software and technology from the United States in any way" in the next seven years. Will the "software" include Android?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Yes, any software.

　　The Paper:Has Google agreed (to terminate the service)?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:They are bound by our export management laws and must not violate this provision. So, yes. （They are subject to our export administration law, there must be no violation to this. Then yes. ）

　　The Paper:Has the US Department of Commerce talked to Google about this matter?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:They are bound by our export management laws, so their export licenses (for ZTE) will not be approved. （They are subject to our export administration law, so none of their export licenses will be approved. ）

　　The Paper:How will it be implemented? Is there a timetable at present?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:Are effective immediately.

　　The Paper:Will other China enterprises, including Huawei, encounter similar investigations or bans?

　　United States Department of Commerce: I don’t comment on this.

　　The Paper:This ban on ZTE will eventually damage American companies, including ZTE suppliers. Will it become a double-edged sword?

　　U.S. Department of Commerce:I won’t comment on this, it’s a national security matter.