CHINA/DEFENSE/SANCTIONS/SENATE/SPENDING/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Senate passed a $716 billion defense policy bill on Wednesday [8-1-18], backing President Donald Trump’s call for a bigger, stronger military and sidestepping a potential battle with the White House over technology from major Chinese firms. The Senate voted 87-10 for the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA. The annual act authorizes U.S. military spending but is used as a vehicle for a broad range of policy matters as it has passed annually for more than 50 years. Since it cleared the House of Representatives last week, the bill now goes to Trump, who is expected to sign it into law. While the measure puts controls on U.S. government contracts with China’s ZTE Corp (000063.SZ) and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd [HWT.UL] because of national security concerns, the restrictions are weaker than in earlier versions of the bill. This angered some lawmakers, who wanted to reinstate tough sanctions on ZTE to punish the company for illegally shipping products to Iran and North Korea…Lawmakers from both parties have been at odds with the Republican Trump over his decision to lift his earlier ban on U.S. companies selling to ZTE, allowing China’s second-largest telecommunications equipment maker to resume business.”
–Patricia Zengerle, “Massive U.S. defense policy bill passes without strict China measures,” Reuters, August 1, 2018 11:32 am