Letter to DHS Secretary Mayorkas after Failure to Respond to Chinse Crane Inquiry

Gallagher and Rep. Gimenez at Port of Miami
May 9, 2023
Letters

Chairmen Mike Gallagher (R-WI) and Mark E. Green (R-TN) seek immediate compliance from DHS Secretary Mayorkas. Mayorkas failed to respond to the Committee's April 3, 2023 letter that requested information on DHS' plans to combat threats posed by Chinese cargo cranes at American ports.”

In part, the lawmakers wrote, "We remain concerned about the security risks associated with the widespread use of Chinese-manufactured cranes that threaten to undermine our national security, particularly those made by Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries (ZPMC), a Chinese state-owned business whose governing shareholder is the China Communication Construction Company... Today, ZPMC controls around 70 percent of the global market share for cranes and accounts for nearly 80 percent of the ship-to-shore cranes at U.S. ports."

Outlets such as the Wall Street Journal have reported on the national security risks of Chinese state-owned cranes, revealing that Pentagon officials have called ZPMC a 'Trojan horse' for the CCP, and that the FBI has reportedly discovered intelligence collection devices on ZPMC cranes in the Port of Baltimore.

Lawmakers demanded that DHS provide a staff-level briefing no later than May 31, 2023. The letter also makes nine detailed requests for Secretary Mayorkas to fill by May 24, including the submission of:

  • All documents and communications and briefing materials about ZPMC and/or any other Chinese-based crane manufacturer

 

  • A description of the steps DHS has taken to identify, assess, and mitigate the risks associated with Chinese software and operational technology in U.S. ports;

 

  • A description of any existing DHS collaborations or partnerships with the private sector, state and local governments, and international partners to address the issue of Chinese software and operational technology in U.S. ports;

Representatives Dan Bishop, August Pfluger, Andrew Garbarino, and Carlos Gimenez cosigned the letter with Chairmen Green and Gallagher.

Click HERE to read the full letter. 

Issues: Critical Infrastructure/Cyber