China-based telecommunications firm ZTE has paid a $1 billion fine to the United States as part of a deal to end an export ban enacted in April in response to ZTE's violations of a 2017 agreement, in which the company admitted to evading sanctions on Iran and North Korea.  ZTE will also put $400 million in an escrow account, which will serve as an incentive to comply with U.S. trade rules going forward, according to a Commerce Department official.  The payment comes after lawmakers in Congress attempted to block the administration from lifting the ban on ZTE, citing national security concerns.