In a daylong hearing about how to deal with the distortion Chinese industrial policy creates in world markets, American witnesses recommended dramatic changes to government policies aimed at divorcing China from the U.S. economy, and not just in sensitive technologies, but also in consumer goods, such as cell phones and tablets or electric vehicle components. All were speaking on trade issues to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission April 14. The commission's mandate is to report to Congress on the national security implications and impact of the bilateral trade and economic relationship between the United States and China, and its members are appointed by Republicans and Democrats in Congress.
Senators on the Finance Committee agreed that deepening trade ties with countries in Asia is important both for geopolitical and economic reasons, but they disagreed during a March 15 hearing on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework about whether a traditional free-trade agreement is a better approach than the IPEF.
Senators on the Finance Committee agreed that deepening trade ties with countries in Asia is important both for geopolitical and economic reasons, but they disagreed during a March 15 hearing on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework about whether a traditional free-trade agreement is a better approach than the IPEF.
House members are pushing competing kids' privacy bills in an attempt to keep pace with bipartisan efforts in the Senate (see 2202280060). But talks in the lower chamber have been fragmented, House Commerce Committee members told us Tuesday at a House Consumer Protection Subcommittee hearing.
Opponents are debating the legacy of a 2018 anti-sex trafficking law as the Senate prepares to take up a similar Section 230-related measure in the Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (see 2202100071). Courts, meanwhile, continue to iron out case law on Communications Decency Act liability protections.
The Senate Commerce Committee is considering a potential markup for bipartisan children’s privacy legislation introduced last week (see 2202160055), Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Earn It Act by voice vote Thursday (see 2202090050 and 2202010019). Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., vowed to push a companion measure forward in the House. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., told us he’s going to “fight” the bill “every step of the way.”
While the U.S. is either the second or No. 1 trading partner for the European Union, Canada and Japan, their ambassadors warned that some of the actions the U.S. has taken in the last five years undermine its alliances. They spoke at the end of the first day of the Washington International Trade Association annual conference.
DOJ’s inspector general highlighted “significant” concerns about the department’s intelligence gathering efforts for the discredited Steele dossier, the nominee to lead the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. The dossier by Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence agent linked to the Hillary Clinton campaign, alleged Trump-Russia-linked interference in the 2016 presidential election. The IG’s reports were “very convincing” and detailed 17 omissions or errors in the IC’s Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act applications, said Sharon Bradford Franklin during her confirmation hearing.
In their first official statements at the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency’s two newest export control officials singled out China and Russia and said they plan to prioritize enforcement work involving human rights.