https://www.theverge.com/2018/4/16/17242664/us-uk-china-smartphone-zte-security-risk-sanctions >The US Department of Commerce just announced a ban on American exports to the Chinese smartphone maker ZTE. That means American companies like Dolby and Qualcomm won’t be able to export any parts to ZTE for up to seven years. The loss of Qualcomm is particularly damaging, as it severely restricts ZTE’s options for devices in the US market. >The Commerce Department says ZTE failed to uphold a plea agreement after it pleaded guilty last year to illegally shipping US equipment to Iran and North Korea. Part of the deal was that ZTE would reprimand and deny bonuses to the employees who had acted illegally. But the company didn’t meet this part of the deal. It gave full bonuses to those employees and only fired four senior staffers while keeping 35 employees who had also violated the law on deck, officials told Reuters.