Chinese technology company ZTE said late Wednesday it has halted its main operations after U.S. authorities banned it from doing business with American suppliers. "Major operating activities of the company have ceased" as a result of the U.S. Commerce Department "denial order" issued last month, ZTE said in a statement. The Commerce Department slapped ZTE with a seven-year sales ban in a case involving exports of telecom gear to Iran and North Korea. ZTE, which also makes smartphones, had said the ban threatened its existence by cutting off access to U.S. suppliers of key technology and components like microchips. U.S. authorities imposed the penalty after discovering that Shenzhen-based ZTE had misled regulators involving the illegal shipments to North Korea and Iran.

Source: Fox News May 09, 2018 15:56 UTC