THE U.S. Commerce Department is set to place export restrictions on Shenzhen-based telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp. for allegedly violating U.S. export controls on Iran, Reuters reported Saturday, citing documents it saw.

    The restrictions will make it difficult for ZTE to acquire U.S. products by requiring the firm’s suppliers to apply for an export license before shipping any American-made equipment or parts to ZTE. According to a Commerce Department notice that will be published this week in the U.S. Federal Register, the license applications generally will be denied.

    The restrictions will take effect Tuesday and apply to any company worldwide that wants to ship U.S.-made products to ZTE in China. Those companies are not the target of the export curbs on ZTE.

    “This is a significant new burden on trade with ZTE,” a senior official at the Commerce Department said. The official declined to comment on whether the U.S. Government might take further action against ZTE.

    A spokesman for ZTE could not be reached for immediate comment. The company can appeal the action.

    The Commerce Department investigated ZTE for alleged export-control violations following reports in 2012 that the company had signed contracts to ship millions of dollars worth of hardware and software from some of America’s best-known tech firms to Iran’s largest telecom carrier, Telecommunication Co. of Iran (TCI), and a unit of the consortium that controls it.

    The United States has long banned the sale of U.S.-made tech products to Iran. The Commerce Department’s investigation focused on whether ZTE had acquired American products through front companies and then shipped them to Iran, a violation of U.S. sanctions.

    ZTE is one of the world’s largest telecom equipment makers with operations in 160 countries, according to its website. It also is a major manufacturer of mobile handsets. Founded in 1985, its shares trade on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

    Besides ZTE, the export curbs will apply to two of its Chinese affiliates, ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. and Beijing 8-Star, and an Iranian company, ZTE Parsian.

    ZTE spokesman David Dai Shu said Jan. 19 that ZTE aims to boost U.S. sales to become the third-largest provider of smartphones there. (SD-Agencies)