WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after language to increase transparency and prohibit investments by American entities in sensitive technologies in China, an effort he has led in the Senate with Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), was included in the government funding bill:

“China will stop at nothing to win the global power competition, and certain investments – including intellectual property and capital – by American companies in the country can be weaponized by the Chinese Communist Party to get ahead,” said Sen. Cornyn. “With the inclusion of outbound investment language in the government funding bill, we’re taking a necessary step to safeguard American innovation against bad actors and ensure our lasting dominance on the world stage, and I commend congressional leaders for their work to include this important issue in the final text.”

Background:

The provisions included in this year’s government funding agreement would:

• Authorize the President to impose sanctions on any People’s Republic of China (PRC) entity that engages in significant operations in the PRC’s military and intelligence sectors;
• Permit the Secretary of Treasury to prohibit a U.S. person from investing in certain sensitive technologies;
• Require the Secretary of Treasury to set up a notification regime for the covered technologies the Secretary chooses not to prohibit;
• Require annual reports to Congress containing information on covered investments and trends;
• And direct the Secretary of Treasury, in coordination with other agencies, to engage with partner countries on establishing comparable outbound investment regimes.

Sens. Cornyn and Casey introduced the Outbound Investment Transparency Act, which passed the Senate last year, to require covered U.S. entities to notify the U.S. Department of the Treasury of various investments in sensitive technologies in countries of concern.