Commerce said the deal includes a $1 billion penalty against ZTE and a U.S.-chosen compliance team to be embedded at ZTE.

“We are literally embedding a compliance department of our choosing into the company to monitor it going forward. They will pay for those people but the people will report to the new chairman,” Ross said in a “Squawk Box” interview.

“This is a pretty strict settlement. The strictest and largest settlement fine that has ever been brought by the Commerce Department against any violator of export controls,” he said.