Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jeff Merkley of Oregon introduced a bill Feb. 28 to ban exports of liquefied natural gas and crude oil to China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. They said such exports could raise domestic prices for natural gas and help China’s state-sponsored industries compete against U.S. companies.
Exports to China
House Republican conservatives introduced a bill to restrict outbound investment in Chinese tech companies, require the administration to impose sanctions "on entities knowingly engaging in a pattern of theft of American IP," and impose sanctions on "Chinese officials and entities until they have stopped the flow of deadly fentanyl, and we’ve determined that fentanyl overdoses/deaths have dropped by 98%." It also said the administration must sanction "Chinese apps that steal U.S. citizens’ data and protect personal health data from China."
American chip company Applied Materials has received multiple U.S. government subpoenas in recent months -- including one from the Bureau of Industry and Security -- asking for information about its exports to Chinese customers.
The compromise six-bill appropriations package that congressional negotiators unveiled March 3 contains $191 million for the Bureau of Industry and Security in FY 2024, the same as the FY 2023 enacted level and $31 million below the Biden administration’s request.
Companies should continue to see more Chinese additions to the U.S. Entity List this year, although Russia sanctions likely will continue to dominate the government’s time and resources, trade lawyers said this week.
The leaders of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to strengthen biotechnology export controls to preserve U.S. leadership in the critical sector.
The Biden administration and Congress should wield a wide range of tools to choke off Iran’s oil exports, which are fueling Tehran’s support for terrorist groups, a former State Department official said Feb. 28.
The State Department fined Boeing $51 million after the company allegedly violated a range of U.S. export controls, including license requirements for exports to China and Russia. The violations, which Boeing voluntarily disclosed, included illegal exports to foreign employees and contractors working in more than 15 countries; a trade compliance specialist fabricating an export license to illegally ship defense items abroad; and violations of the terms and conditions of other export licenses, among other things.
The U.S. may need new industry advisory committees to help it implement and maintain its semiconductor export controls against China, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said in a recent report.
The U.S. needs a more measured and analytics-driven approach to sanctions, export controls and other economic statecraft tools, said Daleep Singh, President Joe Biden’s incoming deputy national security adviser for international economics. He warned about the risks of relying too heavily on new, large-scale sanctions against China and called on the U.S. to create a formal doctrine to guide its use of trade restrictions.