Combat Chinese Economic Aggression Act will protect U.S. technology and manufacturing by cracking down on trade cheating and investments in and from foreign countries of concern
Casey legislation to strengthen U.S. economic and national security against evolving threats from China
Casey: “The choice is ours: we can take control of our own future or we can let China eat our lunch”
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) introduced legislation to strengthen American competitiveness in the global economy, crack down on trade cheating, and protect against economic and cybersecurity threats from China. The Combat Chinese Economic Aggression Act will strengthen U.S. manufacturing and technology by pushing back against China and other countries of concern that seek to steal trade secrets and exert influence over American defense, manufacturing, infrastructure, telecommunications, and energy industries. Included in this legislation are five bills: the American Industry and Technology Protection Act, Disclosing Investments in Foreign Adversaries Act, Stop Investing in Chinese Innovation and Aggression Act; Market Economy Sourcing Act, and Secure Smartports Act.
“China’s rising economic aggression will put our security, workers, and communities at risk if we don’t fight back. My bills will help to level the playing field for American workers and crack down on trade cheating and dangerous investments in Chinese markets,” said Senator Casey. “The choice is ours: we can take control of our own future or we can let China eat our lunch.”
Senator Casey has led the charge in Congress to protect against threats to U.S. economic and national security from China and other countries of concern including Iran, North Korea, and Russia. Casey has pressed the Biden Administration to keep tariffs on Chinese imports, crack down on unfair Chinese trade practices, and prioritize American made products. Additionally, Senator Casey has led bipartisan efforts to raise alarms about SHEIN, a Chinese corporation allegedly utilizing forced labor. Casey championed provisions in the Intelligence Authorization Act to stop fentanyl at the border, prevent Chinese cyberattacks, and thwart Chinese efforts to evade U.S. regulations.
In June 2023, Senator Casey delivered a rousing speech to union workers and business leaders in Pittsburgh to outline his vision for the United States to take control of its economic future by investing in American workers and manufacturing, as well as stopping investments in national security sectors from going to countries of concern, including China. He has led bipartisan legislation to give the U.S. insight into these investments, which passed the Senate as amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 91-6 in July 2023, but House Republican leadership ultimately dropped Casey’s bill from the final NDAA legislation. At the same time, Casey pushed the Biden Administration to take executive action to screen outbound investments in critical sectors in countries of concern. The Department of Treasury announced the proposed rule in June.
The American Industry and Technology Protection Act will help the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) to more rapidly crack down on evolving Chinese threats to the U.S. market economy. The legislation would expand CFIUS’ authority, allowing the Committee to review all transactions from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in emerging critical technologies. Additionally, this bill will help CFIUS identify and mitigate transactions that would impair the economic and technological competitiveness of the United States in foundational industries such as steelmaking, petrochemicals, and energy technology.
The Disclosing Investments in Foreign Adversaries Act will enable Americans to know where their savings are invested and inform U.S. lawmakers about the extent of our financial exposure to China. This legislation would provide transparency into individual funds’ investments in China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea by requiring: private funds to annually disclose assets invested in each country of concern; an annual publicly available report containing a list of entities ant their assets in each country of concern; mutual funds and exchange-traded funds to publicly disclose percentage of funds’ net assets allocated in countries of concern; and companies issuing securities in U.S. markets to disclose the beneficial owners of the issuer, intended use of the proceeds, and the countries and sectors where the proceeds would be invested.
The Stop Investing in Chinese Innovation and Aggression Act will protect U.S. national and economic security by limiting outsourcing and direct investments in foreign countries of concern, particularly China. This legislation would safeguard U.S. manufacturing, innovation, and security by establishing a program to prohibit U.S. firms from making investments in technologies in countries of concern and requiring U.S. entities, including corporations, to notify the Department of Treasury of certain investments and activities in countries of concern.
The Market Economy Sourcing Act will establish a limit on the amount of content that can come from non-market economies (NME), shifting dependence away from NMEs, like China. At present, half of a product’s content under existing rules of origin can come from countries outside of those participating in a trade agreement. This means a significant share of content for goods receiving preferential market access under a trade agreement can come from non-market economies including China. The Market Economy Sourcing Act would shut a backdoor to our economy. During the first five-year period following entry into force of a free trade agreement, no more than 20 percent of the “remainder” of content, that is, content not covered by the rule of origin, in qualifying goods may originate from non-market economies, and no more than ten percent thereafter. After five years, 90 percent of the remainder content in qualifying goods, or 95 percent of total content, on average, must come from market economies. With respect to critical supply chains and capacities, no content from non-market economies and foreign adversaries would be allowed following this phase-out period.
The Secure Smartports Act will direct the National Counterintelligence and Security Center (NCSC) to alert the U.S. port and shipping industry to the threat of PRC-backed shipping and logistics infrastructure, technology, and software to U.S. supply chains to help protect against them. As the agency whose mission is to “provide counterintelligence outreach to U.S. private sector entities at risk of foreign intelligence penetration,” it’s critical to U.S. national and economic security that NCSC work with ports and shipping companies to understand the risks of using Chinese technology.
Read more about the Combat Chinese Economic Aggression Act here.
###
