Washington reaches a deal with ZTE to reverse the ban on buying parts from US suppliers

U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said on Thursday that Washington has reached a deal with ZTE Corp that would reverse a **ban on buying parts** from US suppliers, allowing China’s No. 2 telecommunications equipment maker to get back into business. [caption id=“attachment_4439215” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] ZTE booth. Reuters.[/caption] Reuters reported exclusively on Tuesday that ZTE had signed a preliminary agreement with the US Commerce Department, along with the fine and other terms. ZTE ceased major operations since the seven-year ban was imposed on the company in April for breaking a 2017 agreement that was reached after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran and North Korea. ZTE’s survival has been a topic of discussion in high-level US-China trade talks. US President Donald Trump met with his trade advisers on Tuesday to discuss China’s offer to import an extra $70 billion of American goods over a year in hopes of defusing a potential trade war between the world’s two largest economies. Ross said on Sunday he had been having frank, useful talks in China about exports, as Washington presses its message to Beijing about structural economic changes amid the festering trade dispute.