1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Zero Tolerance for Electronics Theft Act or the ZTE Theft Act . 2. Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has determined that certain foreign actors pose a serious threat to the telecommunications supply chain. (2) Through cyber espionage and other deliberate acts, billions of dollars in trade secrets, intellectual property, and technology are stolen each year from the Federal Government, corporations, and academic institutions. (3) The People’s Republic of China (China) is one of the two largest participants in cyber espionage. (4) A 2012 report by the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives found that China exerts cyber espionage capabilities through telecommunications components and systems marketed directly to businesses and other entities in the United States. (5) A 2018 report by the Office of the United States Trade Representative found that Chinese government-owned entities were responsible for a substantial number of patent infringements. (6) ZTE Corporation, based in China, demonstrates the risks associated with doing business in countries sanctioned by the United States and provides a model, as well as advocates for, the use of shell companies to subvert the export control laws of the United States, explicitly stating that [t]he biggest advantage of [this model] is that it is more effective, [because it’s] harder for the U.S. Government to trace it or investigate the real flow of the controlled commodities. . (7) United States businesses provide an estimated 25 to 30 percent of the components used in products of ZTE Corporation, including smart­phones. (8) The FBI determined that ZTE Corporation sold banned technology to Iran and used the methods discussed in paragraph (6) to mask its transaction history in an effort to undermine investigations of the Department of Commerce. (9) Since 2008, ZTE Corporation has been the defendant, counterclaimant, or respondent in 722 court