[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 126 (Thursday, July 26, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1078]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              ZTE VIOLATES U.S. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS

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                           HON. STEVE CHABOT

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2018

  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, ZTE has been a consistent offender of U.S. 
law and policy. It has repeatedly lied to the U.S. government, broken 
commitments, and stolen valuable intellectual property (IP) from the 
U.S. companies. That is precisely why I hoped for the inclusion of the 
Senate amendment to reinstate penalties against ZTE in the National 
Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for FY2019. Unfortunately, the 
amendment will not be included and I remain deeply concerned that 
America's businesses--both large and small--may pay the price.
   ZTE routinely employs many U.S. patented innovations without paying 
anything for the privilege. U.S. businesses have successfully brought 
suits against ZTE at both the US International Trade Commission and in 
U.S. district courts. Moreover, ZTE refuses to enter into fair 
licensing agreements with U.S. businesses to pay for the IP it has 
appropriated and employs tactics to avoid entering into fair 
contractual agreements while the theft of IP from our U.S. companies 
continues.
   In light of the fact that the FY2019 NDAA will not include language 
to reinstate penalties against ZTE and the likelihood that ZTE will be 
back to business in the U.S. as usual, I will be introducing 
legislation that helps to protect U.S. businesses from ZTE's nefarious 
activities and creates meaningful repercussions for ZTE if it continues 
to steal our most advanced and valuable intellectual property.
   I believe that if ZTE is going to have the undeserved privilege of 
conducting business with U.S. companies, Congress must act to ensure 
that they operate as good stewards of our free market system or face 
the penalties that our own businesses are subject to. The protection of 
our U.S. intellectual property laws remains my top priority.

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