Schumer, Wyden, Warren, Cortez Masto, And Other Senate Democrats Press Trump To Restore Export Controls On Sensitive U.S. Technology That Trump Gave Away In Trade Talks With China

Blacklisted Chinese Companies Can Now Exploit A Loophole To Obtain Key U.S. Technologies, Threatening National Security

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen, Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., along with Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., pressed Donald Trump on his decision to trade away U.S. national security to China in search of quick handshake deals to mitigate his disastrous trade agenda by suspending critical export controls that helped prevent Chinese companies from accessing American-made advanced technology.

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, along with several Senate Democrats, criticized President Trump’s decision to suspend critical Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) export controls for one year as a concession to China, thereby jeopardizing national security and the United States’ competitive advantage in critical technologies.

“Prior Presidents have refused to negotiate away national security controls. You, in contrast, have turned export controls into a chip to bargain away. The suspension of these controls undermines U.S. national security and will make it far more difficult to stem the illicit diversion of American-made semiconductors and other advanced technology to Chinese state-affiliated entities,” wrote the Senators. “In return, you have received very little: a temporary truce in your disastrous trade war that leaves Americans worse off than when you took office and preserves a status quo in which China is undercutting U.S. national and economic security. We urge you to reinstate these controls and end your giveaway of key national security tools.”

Trump struck a deal with the Chinese Communist Party that suspended the ability of the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to enforce an “affiliates rule” that closes a loophole exploited by foreign companies that are otherwise restricted from receiving many U.S.-derived exports of critical technologies on account of American national security interests. This affiliates rule would have prohibited access to American technologies for subsidiaries or other cutout arrangements banned companies use to evade U.S. export controls. By suspending this rule, Trump is making it easier for blacklisted Chinese companies to obtain advanced U.S. technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) chips and surveillance technology, which is a direct threat to U.S. national security.

The text of the letter is here.

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