President Donald Trump should not be able to unilaterally repeal or modify sanctions against Chinese telecom company ZTE, Sen. Chris Van Hollen told CNBC on Tuesday.
An amendment to that effect, introduced by Van Hollen, passed the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. It applies specifically to ZTE or any other Chinese telecom company.
"We should not be trading off national security interests for whatever the latest deal the president is trying to cook up may be," the Democratic senator from Maryland said on "Closing Bell."
Earlier in the day, Trump said his administration has not yet reached a deal with Beijing to save the telecom company. His statement contradicted a report by The Wall Street Journal that indicated the Trump administration came to a tentative agreement to revive the phone maker.
U.S. companies have been barred from selling to ZTE because the company violated American sanctions on North Korea and Iran. ZTE said the move threatened its survival.
Trump previously directed the Commerce Department to consider how to get ZTE back in business. On Tuesday, he reiterated that he decided to try to help the company after Chinese President Xi Jinping "asked me to look into it."
He also argued he did so because the inability to sell to ZTE is "really hurting American companies."
However, Van Hollen said there is a reason the sanctions were imposed.
"When you decide that you are going to lift those penalties on a whim, it sends a very bad signal to all others who may be thinking of violating our sanctions, whether with Iran or North Korea," he argued.
His amendment would require the president to make a certification to Congress that there has been no violation of U.S. law for one year and that the company is cooperating.
— CNBC's Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.