Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said he plans to introduce a bill that would sanction Chinese officials involved in the “suppression” of medical experts, journalists and others, which is “helping to fuel” the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an April 14 press release. The bill would sanction officials who tried to censor Chinese people from sharing information about the virus and who tried to limit access to media, Cruz said. That censorship posed a threat to the U.S. and countries around the world trying to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Cruz said he will introduce the bill when Congress returns.
Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., urged the Trump administration to sanction Chinese officials responsible for committing human rights violations in Hong Kong. The U.S. must use “all diplomatic tools available to prevent Hong Kong’s backsliding on democracy,” Gardner said April 18, including sanctions. Gardner’s comments came after Chinese officials arrested pro-democracy leaders in Hong Kong, according to an April 18 Reuters report.
Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma and five other Senate Republicans urged the departments of Commerce, Defense, Energy and State Tuesday to “issue regulations as soon as possible confirming that U.S. participation in 5G standards-setting is not restricted by export control regulations” in order to ensure U.S. technology “continues to form the core of 5G foundational technology.” U.S. tech leaders “have been constrained from full participation in 5G standards-setting bodies” since Commerce's Bureau of Industry and Security’s addition of Chinese equipment maker Huawei to its entity list, the senators wrote Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. “We are deeply concerned about the risks to the U.S. global leadership position” in 5G “as a result of this reduced participation, and the economic and national security implications of any diminished U.S. role in 5G.” When U.S. export controls “restrict U.S. companies from participating in standards-setting bodies,” Huawei “is well positioned to fill any gaps,” the senators said. The other GOP senators signing the letter were: John Cornyn of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Marco Rubio of Florida and Todd Young of Indiana.
The Trump administration should take more “diplomatic action” to renew the expiring United Nations arms embargo on Iran, U.S. lawmakers said in a dear colleague letter being circulated. Even though Iran continually violates UN bans on arms transfers, the ban is an “important means” to restrict weapons sales to Iran, the lawmakers said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The expiration of the arms embargo, which is set for October, could lead to more states buying and selling weapons to and from Iran, which could have “disastrous consequences” for U.S. national security. The lawmakers also urged Pompeo to “make clear” that U.S. sanctions on Iranian arms transfers will “remain in place and will be fully enforced.”
The Senate Finance Committee chairman, joined by 11 other Senate Republicans, is asking President Donald Trump to consider a total moratorium on new or raised tariffs, as well as examining how tariffs and import and export restrictions specific to medical supplies can be tackled. They praised the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for excluding some medical supplies from Section 301 tariffs since the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic spread to the U.S., but said a wider review should be done to make sure none remain. And they encouraged him to coordinate with other countries that have imposed export restrictions in response to COVID-19, so that there aren't cost increases and “critical supply shortages.”
A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill March 12 that would sanction Huawei and other companies producing 5G technology if they “engage in economic or industrial espionage,” according to a news release. The bill would place those companies on the Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List, which blocks parties from accessing the U.S. financial system. The House bill was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and the Senate bill was co-led by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
Sens. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Chris Coons, D-Del., applauded the Treasury Department’s decision to sanction Zimbabwean officials for human rights violations (see 2003110025) but called for more Zimbabwe sanctions, according to a March 11 press release. The senators said they will continue to push the administration to “hold leaders accountable for corruption” and human rights violations, and added that “there remain several others who need to be held accountable for their actions and we urge the administration to update the list as needed.”
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told reporters that the coronavirus outbreak's impact on China's factories has shown policymakers that the U.S. is too dependent on China for imports. “There ought to be more manufacturing in the United States, but that isn't just on pharmaceuticals, but that could be on anything you're having these supply chains are being interfered with,” he said March 11 in his office at the Capitol.
The House Agriculture subcommittee that covers trade asked farmers to tell them how trade is affecting their businesses. They said they are not following President Donald Trump's advice to buy bigger tractors to fill the orders China has promised to make. Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif., chairman of the subcommittee, quoted Trump's comment about tractors in his opening statement, and said he's skeptical about the phase one deal with China, especially given that the coronavirus outbreak is going to affect China's market demand. He also said he'd heard about American poultry stuck in port because there was no one to move it due to quarantines.
Three House members introduced a bill March 5 that would grant Trade Adjustment Assistance to workers who lost their jobs at firms that had to cut back due to retaliatory tariffs on their exports. The bill was introduced by Reps. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., and Jim Cooper, D-Tenn. Traditionally, TAA has been for people who lost their jobs because the company moved their work out of the country, or because the company had to cut staff because it could not compete with imports. It provides extended unemployment insurance and pays for tuition for up to two years so workers can retrain for a different field. This bill is similar to a Democrat-introduced bill in July 2018 (see 1807180019) that did not get a vote in the House; Schneider, Sensenbrenner and Cooper also introduced a version of the bill in the summer of 2018.