The Senate Banking Committee this week advanced the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017. An amendment prohibits President Trump from changing penalties on Chinese telecommunication companies—including ZTE—that have sanctions levied against them until Congress certifies that they have met certain conditions.
In November 2017, U.S. Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), along with the Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Richard Burr (R-N.C.), introduced the legislation. It is intended to modernize and strengthen the process by which the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States reviews acquisitions, mergers, and other foreign investments in the United States for national security risks.
