The United States Commerce Department has confirmed that it is giving Chinese telecommunications equipment manufacturer ZTE Corporation an extension of it's temporary general license. Temporary licenses are granted by the U.S. Commerce Department to allow international companies to operate on U.S. soil.

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Based on the notice published by the US Commerce Department, which was posted on the Federal Register, ZTE will receive a new three-month temporary general license, which will allow the company to operate until Nov. 28. Aside from ZTE, one of the company's affiliates, ZTE Kangxun, was also included in the new license.

In a statement, ZTE said, "This further extension of interim relief will let ZTE continue serving customers, partners and suppliers in the US as we address any remaining compliance issues with the US authorities."

On March 7, the US Commerce Department announced that it is imposing export restrictions on ZTE, and three affiliated firms. The department said that the restrictions were imposed due to ZTE's alleged violation of US export controls on Iran. The decision was strongly opposed by the Chinese government.

On March 22, the US Commerce Department gave ZTE and ZTE Kangxun a three-month license to allow the companies to operate and lift export restrictions. The license was later extended to Aug. 30. Moreover, the US Commerce Department said that the temporary license granted to ZTE and ZTE Kangxun would be renewed as long as the companies cooperate with the federal government to resolve export issues.

ZTE has 14 offices and six research centers in the United States. In these offices, 350 of its staffs (or 80 percent) are Americans. ZTE is the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in the US, and it currently holds around seven percent of the country's smartphone market.

TagsZTE, zte news, US Commerce Department, Commerce Department, ZTE general license, ZTE temporary general license