East Michigan News

Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) of the House Select Committee on China has expressed support for President Trump's recent decision to expand U.S. export controls to include subsidiaries linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The move aims to prevent entities with CCP ties from accessing American technology by concealing their ownership through foreign front companies.

"President Trump is putting America first and preventing CCP-tied entities from accessing U.S. technology through hiding their ownership in foreign front companies. As the Chairman of the Select Committee on China, I'll continue working to ensure Chinese firms cannot manipulate our export controls and undermine our national security interests," said Chairman Moolenaar.

Chairman Brian Mast of the House Foreign Affairs Committee also commented on the policy: “We are in a must-win, generation-defining battle shaping the future of technology. This critical measure bolsters U.S. national security and safeguards American technological leadership by closing loopholes that allow bad actors to evade restrictions and preventing them from accessing our sensitive technology. This commonsense move aligns the Commerce Department’s Entity List and Military End-User List rules with the Treasury Department’s sanctions rules. No longer will blacklisted companies be able to use subsidiaries to circumvent export controls. As adversaries like China and Russia attempt to exploit vulnerabilities, this is more important now than ever. The committee is working to codify President Trump’s decisive action.”

Earlier this year, President Trump introduced his America First Trade Policy, directing a review of U.S. export control systems in response to actions by strategic adversaries.

Under new guidelines issued by the Department of Commerce, any entity that is at least 50% owned by one or more organizations listed on the Entity List will now face export restrictions. The Entity List identifies companies considered potential threats to U.S. national security, including many Chinese firms accused of exploiting existing controls for CCP objectives.

Jeffrey I. Kessler, Under Secretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, stated: “For too long, loopholes have enabled exports that undermine American national security and foreign policy interests. Under this Administration, BIS is closing the loopholes and ensuring that export controls work as intended."