Good afternoon.

Thank you, Attorney General Whittaker for hosting us today, and thank you to all our interagency partners at Justice, the FBI, and DHS for your outstanding work on this case.

The Trump Administration continues to be tougher on those who violate our sanctions and export control laws than any administration in history.

As Secretary, one of my very first actions was to punish ZTE for its violations, and we continue to monitor them more strictly than any other company in our history.

For years, Chinese firms have broken our export laws and undermined sanctions, often using U.S. financial systems to facilitate their illegal activities.

This will end. 

The men and women of our Bureau of Industry and Security have been at the forefront of our efforts, and I commend them again for their work.

Despite their small size – just 400 or so hard-working civil servants – they do an amazing job helping keep America safe from those that would do us harm.

But these DOJ-led indictments also show what the United States government can do when we combine our authorities and bring them to bear against bad actors.

I am very proud to stand side-by-side with our partners.

Together, we are once again putting the world on notice that we will do everything in our power to stop those that disregard U.S. law.

Too many companies pursue profits by whatever means necessary.

Lying, cheating, and stealing are not suitable corporate growth strategies.

To be clear – these indictments are law enforcement actions, and are wholly separate from our trade negotiations with China.

Commerce will continue to work with our interagency partners to protect U.S. national security interests.

We will ensure our sanctions and export control laws are enforced, and violators brought to justice.  
Thank you.