The New York Times issued a major correction Thursday after it completely reversed Sen. Tom Cotton's (R., Ark.) position toward easing sanctions on the Chinese telecommunications company ZTE.
The Times reported on the extensive lobbying efforts by ZTE to water down penalties leveled against it by Washington for violating sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The Times report initially stated, "Congressional aides said that some other Republican senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas and David Perdue of Georgia, were the strongest voices on the conference committee for easing penalties on ZTE."
The Times issued its correction on Thursday, noting Cotton "was not a strong voice in favor of easing the sanctions" but was the exact opposite.
"An earlier version of this article misstated Senator Tom Cotton’s position on the easing of sanctions against the Chinese telecom firm ZTE," the correction said. "Mr. Cotton was a sponsor of a provision that would have restricted ZTE’s ability to do business in the United States. He was not a strong voice in favor of easing the sanctions."
In June, Cotton teamed with Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) to sponsor an amendment against ZTE and fellow telecom giant Huawei, due to their links to electronic spying by Beijing. The amendment would have prohibited U.S. government agencies from purchasing or leasing telecommunications equipment or services from the companies or any of their affiliates.
"ZTE, Huawei and other Chinese telecom companies are virtual arms of the Chinese Communist Party," Cotton said in a radio interview that month. "They are grave threats to our national security and our telecommunications infrastructure as well as the privacy of American citizens."
After ZTE's lobbying and pressure from the White House, the Senate ultimately passed a defense bill that didn't include the reinstatement of sanctions against ZTE. The U.S. Commerce Department reached an agreement in June where the company paid a $1 billion fine, funded an in-house compliance team, and changed its entire executive board. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized the deal as a victory for China.