A bill that would prohibit the removal of Chinese telecom company Huawei from the Commerce Department Entity List without an act of Congress was introduced in the U.S. Senate Tuesday.
The Entity List identifies entities reasonably believed to be involved in activities contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States. The Export Administration Regulations imposes additional license requirements on entities on the list.
In May, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the U.S. Department of Commerce added Huawei Technologies Co. and its affiliates to the list for
“This action by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, with the support of the President of the United States, places Huawei, a Chinese owned company that is the largest telecommunications equipment producer in the world, on the Entity List. This will prevent American technology from being used by foreign-owned entities in ways that potentially undermine U.S. national security or foreign policy interests,” Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said.
The bill — Defending America’s 5G Future Act — would codify this action. It was introduced by Sens. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Mark Warner (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mitt Romney (R-UT).
“Huawei isn’t a normal business partner for American companies, it’s a front for the Chinese Communist Party. Our bill reinforces the president’s decision to place Huawei on a technology blacklist. American companies shouldn’t be in the business of selling our enemies the tools they’ll use to spy on Americans,” Cotton said.
The legislation would also empower Congress to disallow waivers that any administration might grant to U.S. companies engaged in commerce with Huawei.
“The best way to address the national security threat we face from China’s telecommunications companies is to draw a clear line in the sand and stop retreating every time Beijing pushes back. By prohibiting American companies from doing business with Huawei, we finally sent an unequivocal message that we take this threat seriously and President Trump shouldn’t be able to trade away those legitimate security concerns,” Van Hollen said. “This legislation will make sure he doesn’t by codifying the President’s original executive order on Huawei and prohibiting the Administration from relieving penalties on Huawei without the approval of Congress.”
U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Liz Cheney (R-WY), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) have introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
“This bill codifies Huawei’s addition to the Commerce Department’s banned Entity List, and thus protects one of the Trump Administration’s most important moves in America’s long-term strategic competition with the totalitarian Chinese government and Communist Party,” Rubio said. “Huawei, a malign Chinese state-directed telecommunications company that seeks to dominate the future of 5G networks, is an instrument of national power used by the regime in Beijing to undermine U.S. companies and other international competitors, engage in espionage on foreign countries, and steal intellectual property and trade secrets.”