The Bureau of Industry and Security should “significantly” strengthen export controls against Huawei to further restrict the Chinese technology company from buying U.S.-origin items, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in a March 6 letter to the agency. Although McCaul applauded its use of the Entity List and the foreign direct product rule to “curtail Huawei’s unconstrained march to dominate 5G telecommunications systems globally,” he said more should be done.

A Republican-backed bill introduced in the House this month could provide for greater “congressional oversight of certain sanctions imposed” against Russia. Rep. Daniel Meuser, R-Pa., introduced the bill, which doesn't yet have publicly available text. It has four Republican co-sponsors.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., reintroduced a bill last week that he said would give the administration “explicit authority” to sanction any Chinese entity or person who knowingly supports Russia’s war in Ukraine. The bill, which has more than 10 Democratic co-sponsors, also would authorize certain sanctions against those who Russia evade U.S. sanctions. The sanctions in the Deter PRC Support to the Russian War Effort Act include financial designations, certain investment restrictions, procurement prohibitions and more. The bill also was introduced during the last Congress.

The Biden administration should impose Global Magnitsky sanctions against leading Chinese surveillance company Hikvision for its role in human rights violations against Uyghurs in China, Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Gregory Meeks, D.N.Y., said this week. The lawmakers, the top Republican and Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, asked President Joe Biden to tell the committee within 120 days whether Hikvision meets criteria for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, pointing to the company’s “clear track record in enabling international recognized human rights violations in Xinjiang.”

Senators unveiled legislation this week that would give the administration new authority to block transactions with TikTok and other foreign technology products that threaten U.S. national security. The bill, which has bipartisan support and was endorsed by the White House, would require the Commerce Department to establish new procedures to prohibit or mitigate transactions involving information and communications technology products “in which any foreign adversary has any interest and poses undue or unacceptable risk to national security.”

Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and John Thune, R-S.D., recently introduced a bill called Undertaking Negotiations on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism (United) Act, which would use the last trade promotion authority's language to authorize a free-trade negotiation with the U.K.

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., recently reintroduced several bills that could lead to sanctions against China and North Korea:

The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted 24-16 this week to advance a bill that would grant the Biden administration new authorities to ban U.S. transactions with TikTok. It also would require the president to impose certain sanctions on entities or people that transfer U.S. personal data to entities under the influence of the Chinese government. The bill, which was advanced along party lines, must still be passed by the full House and Senate before it’s sent for President Joe Biden’s signature.

The top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee applauded the Biden administration's revised conventional arms transfer policy, saying it will give “greater consideration for human rights abuses” when State Department officials adjudicate transfers and sales. Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York said the new policy, released last week (see 2302230049), “represents a meaningful step forward in ensuring the United States does not contribute to human rights abuses through its arms exports.”

The Republican leaders of the House and Senate foreign relations committees criticized the Biden administration's new Conventional Arms Transfer policies for failing to prioritize the economic competitiveness of U.S. defense companies. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said the new policy “reflects this administration’s fundamental misunderstanding of the challenges we and our allies and partners are facing to obtain the weapons we need to keep our country safe and to deter aggression around the world.” They also said the new policy is missing “transparent criteria” for how the administration evaluates arms transfers.