Secretary Raimondo

CTT Issues Memo In Advance of BIS Oversight Hearing: What is the Commerce Department’s Export Control Policy?

Posted on by China Tech Threat
In advance of Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Under Secretary Alan Estevez’s appearance before the U.S. Senate Banking Committee July 14 hearing on export controls, China Tech Threat issued a memo to congressional staff and interested parties on BIS’ failure to apply China-related export controls. The memo highlights the potential dissonance between Estevez’s stated long-term priority to “stop [China] from using our technology against us” and Secretary Raimondo’s assertion that “selling a commodity product to a Chinese company is in and of itself not problematic.”  It also poses a set of key questions that would help clarify Commerce Department’s position on employing China-focused export controls:  Does the Commerce Department plan to impose export controls in response to the threat from YMTC? If not, why… Read More

CTT Requests Commerce Dept. Explain Policy Reversal

Posted on by China Tech Threat
FOIA seeks disclosure of agency communications with top 3 chip machine makers WASHINGTON – China Tech Threat (CTT) called on Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to clarify the agency’s position on export control enforcement and sales of American semiconductor manufacturing equipment (SME) to China. The request follows Sec. Raimondo’s recent public statements, quoted in news reports, that U.S. companies equipping Chinese government-owned and affiliated competitors is “not problematic.” CTT submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain details of meetings Sec. Raimondo held with the CEOs of the top U.S. chip machine makers. Sec. Raimondo’s comments, including that “nothing is wrong” with U.S. companies selling SME to Chinese companies aligned with the Chinese military, contradict the Commerce Department’s… Read More

Momentum Builds in Washington to Protect and Re-Shore Semiconductor Supply Chains

Posted on by China Tech Threat
Both the Biden Administration and the U.S. Congress are focused on reducing the national security risk from China-based semiconductor supply chains. On March 17th, a bipartisan group of members of Congress introduced the Facilitating American-Built Semiconductors Act (FABS Act), a piece of legislation designed to “drive long term investment into the United States for the design and manufacturing of semiconductor chips.” This is in response to the fact that, as the office of Congressman Mike Kelly notes, “As global competitiveness for semiconductor control has intensified, countries like Communist China have provided incentives to draw companies to manufacture semiconductors on their soil.” Days later, at a bipartisan Department of Commerce roundtable on March 21st, Secretary Gina Raimondo hosted Senator Todd Young,… Read More