Letter to Secretary Raimondo on Chinese Working Group and Tougher Export Controls

WASHINGTON, DC – Chairman Mike Gallagher (R-WI) of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on National Security and International Trade and Finance, and Chairwoman Young Kim (CA) of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific wrote a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo after reports revealed that she is considering joining the Chinese government in a working group after her trip to China later this month.

The anticipated working group with the Chinese government would discuss export controls on advanced semiconductors -- the very technology that Sec. Raimondo bears responsibility for keeping out of China's reach. The lawmakers conveyed that it is deeply inappropriate for our foremost adversary to have any influence over controls on sensitive US national security technologies that the American people charged her to protect.

In the letter, the lawmakers write, "U.S. export control policy towards the [People's Republic of China] should not be up for negotiation, period. Decisions on the nature and scope of U.S. export controls should be taken in Washington, not Beijing... It is time for U.S. officials to accept that the China has no intention of abandoning its policies that led to expanded U.S. export controls in the first place. In this vein, we urge you, prior to your trip, to publicly clarify that U.S. export controls are non-negotiable, and that the PRC should expect more, not less, U.S. export controls moving forward."

Click HERE to view a copy of the letter or read below.