The U.S. must take immediate steps to „stop the hemorrhaging of sensitive U.S. technology to China,” strengthening enforcement of existing rules and adding new ones, according to a House report released Thursday.
President Joe Biden’s administration has made several attempts to stem the flow of sophisticated American technology to China that is used to bolster its military, but the House Foreign Affairs Committee is seeking a tougher approach amid signs that technology continues to flow to Beijing.
For example, the U.S. should deny licenses to all exports to China because China poses a national security risk if it acquires the product, the report says. Currently, some licenses are approved on a case-by-case basis, allowing US technology to reach the Asian country.
The report also states that companies on the Commerce Department’s trade restrictions list, known as the Enterprise List, should not be allowed to use cloud services.
The House report also aims to bridge gaps in implementation. In this sense, when a company or entity is included in the list of companies, the entire corporate structure should be included, not specific subsidiaries.
The report recommends reforms to the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees export controls.
„If America is determined to compete with China, the fossilized bureaucracy that oversees export controls must rid itself of its post-Cold War free-trade mindset,” says the document prepared by the committee’s Republican chairman, Michael McCaul.
