UPDATE 7-U.S. bans American companies from selling to Chinese phone maker ZTE
April 16, 2018 at 21:15 PM EDT
LONDON/NEW YORK, April 17 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Commerce has banned American companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp for seven years after breaking an agreement reached after it was caught illegally shipping goods to Iran, U.S. officials said on Monday.