GOP Senators Urge Tightening of Export Controls to Counteract ‘China’s Economic Predation’

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) questions President Joe Biden's nominee for Secretary of Defense, retired Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Jan. 19, 2021. Greg Nash/Pool/Getty Images

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has led a group of 10 Republican senators in calling on the Biden administration to act more quickly to finalize a list of “emerging and foundational technologies” that are key to national security and should be subject to stricter export controls as a guardrail against their acquisition and misuse by China for military and intelligence purposes.

In a June 15 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (pdf), the senators urged the department to “expeditiously” identify the essential technologies, as mandated years ago by the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA) (pdf).