 "'Giveaway of key national security tools': Senate Democrats slam Trump for delaying China tech export rule")
Top Senate Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, criticised the Trump administration on Wednesday for suspending a rule that restricted thousands of Chinese companies from accessing US technology, calling the move a “giveaway of key national security tools.”
The rule, unveiled on September 29, was designed to prevent sanctioned Chinese firms from using networks of subsidiaries to obtain critical American equipment that they were otherwise prohibited from receiving.
However, President Donald Trump last month agreed to delay the rule by one year as part of a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, in exchange for Beijing suspending its restrictions on rare earth mineral exports — essential materials for advanced technologies that are largely controlled by China.
In a letter dated Wednesday and first reported by Reuters, Democratic senators — including Ron Wyden — urged Trump to reinstate the rule, warning that its delay could undermine US technological leadership.
The senators wrote that the suspension puts “American-developed advanced computing technologies at risk of advancing China’s agenda instead of our own.”
“The suspension of these controls undermines US national security and will make it far more difficult to stem the illicit diversion of American-made semiconductors and other advanced technology to Chinese state-affiliated entities,” they wrote.
“We urge you to reinstate these controls and end your giveaway of key national security tools,” they added.
The letter marks the latest backlash against the Trump administration for suspending a rule that had been praised by China hawks from both parties.
The regulation barred companies at least 50% owned by previously sanctioned firms from receiving US technology exports — a move that, according to a WireScreen report, extended export restrictions to roughly 20,000 additional Chinese companies.
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View AllIn their letter, Senate Democrats argued that the one-year suspension reopens a “loophole” and offers “a year-long opportunity for affiliates of blacklisted foreign firms to restructure in order to evade the rule.”
They further accused President Trump of displaying “a troubling pattern” of choosing “to trade away national security in search of quick handshake ‘deals’ to mitigate the harms of trade wars of your own making.”
“We urge you to reconsider this misguided strategy and ensure that our nation’s export controls are no longer used as a bargaining chip,” said the letter, which was also signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Ben Ray Lujan, Andy Kim and Catherine Cortez Masto.
With inputs from agencies
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