US Should Not Make Concessions on Entity List in US-China Trade Deal, House Members Say in Letter

Two congresswomen are asking for more signatures for a letter that applauds the Commerce Department’s decision to place eight Chinese technology companies on the Entity List and urges the administration not to make concessions on the list in trade negotiations.The letter, written by Rep. Susan Wild, D-Pa., and Ann Wagner, R-Mo., to be sent to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also urges the State Department to impose sanctions on China for its oppression of the Uighur population.

Wild and Wagner said the Commerce’s Entity List -- which placed restrictions on 28 entities, including eight Chinese companies involved in surveillance and facial recognition technology, in October (see 1910070076) -- should not be included in any agreement with China. “We have heard reports from the White House that the parties have reached a 'phase one deal,' but we ask that the export blacklist and new 'Entities List' not be bargained away in any finalized deal without verified proof that China will end its persecution of Uighur Muslims and release its detainees,” the letter said.

The letter also said the administration has delayed in its failing to sanction Chinese officials for human rights abuses. “Despite clear evidence, the administration has not imposed sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Act related to these human rights abuses, ignoring the repeated urging of Members of Congress,” the letter said. “We urge you to impose targeted sanctions against the Chinese government, Communist Party officials, and other people and entities complicit in these abuses without delay.”