The Financial Times reports that Donald Trump has ordered the US commerce department to assist a Chinese telecoms group that the agency nearly put out of business a month ago, following a personal request from China's president. The U-turn on ZTE Corp, announced by Mr Trump on Twitter, comes despite a commerce department decision in April banning the manufacturer from sourcing vital components from US companies because of findings it had illegally sold equipment to Iran and North Korea. That move in effect put ZTE out of business, and the company announced on Friday it had halted operations because of the seven-year ban. The reversal marks an unusual intervention by the US president in what the administration had previously portrayed as a legal and procedural rather than political case. US officials insisted when they announced the ban last month that it was not related to broader US-China trade tensions.

The Wall Street Journal writes that the Trump administration is set to face criticism this week from a large cross section of corporations, including U.S. giants like General Electric Co. , over how the administration's proposed tariffs on Chinese imports will affect American manufacturing. The U.S. trade representative's office will hold three days of hearings from Tuesday on the proposed tariffs. The hearings will not only feature businesses facing supply-chain disruptions because of the tariffs proposed for $50 billion of Chinese imports, but will also feature exporters—from farmers to manufacturers—which are likely to suffer from retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports threatened by China. The hearings are part of a busy week on trade for the Trump administration. The team of U.S. trade representative Robert Lighthizer  is also trying to finish negotiating with Mexico and Canada over a rewrite of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Congressional leadership has set a deadline of May 17 to be notified of a deal that would be eligible for a vote this year, an administration goal. The U.S. business community has often been skeptical of the Trump administration's trade initiatives, particularly its threats of tariffs, which are being contemplated under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Executives from big companies, from electronics retailer Best Buy Co. to Swedish appliance maker Electrolux AB, have asked to testify at the hearings and are expected to raise complaints.