Senator Unveils Latest Bipartisan Bill to Curb Outbound Investment in China
Sen. John Cornyn introduced a bill March 13 to restrict U.S. outbound investment in China, the latest of several attempts to pass legislation on a topic many lawmakers consider critical to national security.
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“I’ve continued to work with great partners in the House and the Senate and the Trump administration to continue to make progress on this and bring us to where we are today,” Cornyn said on the Senate floor. “The legislation we're introducing today has been a culmination of years' work, and I believe it’s stronger as a result of the input and the collaboration that’s occurred.”
The Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart China Act, or FIGHT China Act, would establish a program at the Treasury Department to prohibit U.S. investment in certain sensitive technologies in China, including advanced semiconductors, certain artificial intelligence models, quantum computers, and materials used in hypersonic systems.
“We know all of these critical industries directly support the Chinese military,” Cornyn said. “It’s simply foolish to continue to send money to fuel these technologies that could be used, perhaps in the next few years, against the United States and our allies.”
The FIGHT Act would cover several types of investment, including acquisitions, loans, debt financing, joint ventures, equity interest and debt conversions. Several types of investments, including those in securities, would be exempt. The bill would create a notification regime to increase transparency on certain non-prohibited investments. It would authorize the president to sanction entities connected to China’s military and intelligence apparatus.
The bill is co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of 12 senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.; Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, R-S.C.; and Banking Committee ranking member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
The legislation appears to be similar to the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (Coins) Act, which Rep. Andy Barr, R-Ky., introduced near the end of the last Congress (see 2412230038). Barr said in late February that he has been tweaking the Coins Act and has begun receiving feedback from the Trump administration (see 2502250032).