[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 81 (Thursday, May 17, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2760]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  ZTE

  Mr. FLAKE. Mr. President, I rise today disturbed by the President's 
recent decision to consider easing penalties placed on the Chinese 
telecommunications company ZTE.
  Looking at ZTE's history of deception and dishonest business 
practices, it is deeply troubling to see these penalties cast aside so 
carelessly in pursuit of what appears to be a type of chaotic 
diplomatic improvisation that has become standard operating procedure 
with the administration.
  Let me briefly outline ZTE's past actions in order to refresh 
everyone's memory on how the company came to face such serious punitive 
measures.
  In 2016, the U.S. Department of Commerce concluded an exhaustive 
investigation, finding that ZTE had knowingly sold products made with 
American technology to Iran, North Korea, and other countries banned 
from receiving such technologies. ZTE violated these sanctions and 
engaged in a deliberate attempt to cover it up.
  Once ZTE's deception was uncovered, the Obama administration 
announced imminent implementation of export restrictions that would 
deprive ZTE of American technology crucial to the manufacturing of its 
products.
  The threat of sanctions brought ZTE to agree to settle the matter, 
and one year later, ZTE signed a settlement, which included more than 
$1 billion in fines, the creation of audit and compliance requirements 
to avoid future violations, and a promise to punish those individuals 
involved in past violations.
  Last month, after ZTE was found to have violated the terms of the 
settlement and to have then sought to deceive the U.S. Government about 
those violations, the Commerce Department announced a 7-year ban on the 
export of U.S. components to ZTE.
  In essence, ZTE has repeatedly engaged in malign activity by 
deliberately misleading the government for years, all while attempting 
to deliver American technologies into the hands of State sponsors of 
terrorism. The instinct to punish ZTE for this behavior was the right 
one.
  So it was puzzling to hear, as we did this past Sunday, that the 
President instructed the Commerce Department to find a way to ease that 
punishment. First the President tweeted that the restrictions needed to 
be eased because they would cost China too many jobs.
  It now appears that this concession is part of a deal that, if 
reached, would have the Chinese Government agree to remove tariffs on 
U.S. agricultural products. It must be noted that these are the same 
tariffs that China levied in retaliation for the steel and aluminum 
tariffs announced, and now being haphazardly applied, by this 
administration.
  Make no mistake, what we are witnessing here is a nascent trade war--
tariffs leading to tariffs leading to ill-advised concessions, 
haphazard exemptions, and so on and so on. Meanwhile, businesses suffer 
from increased uncertainty, our national security is threatened, and 
international allies find themselves dealing with an American foreign 
policy characterized only by chaos and unpredictability.
  Punitive measures like sanctions work only when they are consistently 
executed. How is any other nation meant to take threats of U.S. 
sanctions seriously when we enforce them some of the time and toss them 
aside other times when we feel like it? What does such unpredictability 
say to our allies about our ability to lead on global issues and our 
reliability as a partner in the future?
  We are making a mockery of the rules-based international order that 
we helped establish. Our foreign policy, whether it relates to trade or 
security, must be characterized by stability and predictability, not 
confusion and chaos.
  We are at our best when our allies and our adversaries know where we 
stand. Let us return to that standard.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that 
notwithstanding rule XXII, the cloture vote on the Haspel nomination 
occur at this time; further, that if cloture is invoked, all 
postcloture time be yielded back and the Senate immediately vote on the 
nomination; and that if confirmed, the motion to reconsider be 
considered made and laid upon the table and the President be 
immediately notified of the Senate's action.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.