Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford is among those who want to see more national security cautions taken by the President when it comes to economic issues—especially those involving China.
He joined Senators Mitt Romney of Utah, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, John Cornyn of Texas and Todd Young of Indiana in introducing what they call the American Economic Independence Act.
It amounts to legislation that would require the President to submit to Congress a comprehensive threat analysis of the national security risks posed by economic integration with China in key economic sectors such as financial services, artificial intelligence, critical minerals, and manufacturing. After delivering the threat analysis, the Executive Branch would be tasked with providing recommendations to Congress to mitigate the national security risks posed by China in each economic sector.
“When we depend on our adversaries, we jeopardize our economy and national security. The Chinese Communist Party’s mission is to undercut American industry. It is essential that the United States take steps to fully evaluate the scope of China’s predatory economic involvement in critical minerals, technology, and manufacturing to secure America’s supply chain,” said Lankford.
Lankford has called for resilience against China’s economic coercion, seeking to address ongoing dependence on China for everything from farmland purchases to pharmaceuticals to critical minerals.
He has also championed the SOIL Act, which targets international land purchases from countries that threaten national security. Lankford led the bipartisan Quad Critical Minerals Partnership Act and introduced legislation to reduce the US’ reliance on China for critical minerals. Lankford continues to call out the Biden Administration’s soft approach to China and encourages the Administration to directly address with China their human rights and religious freedom abuses.
Background:
The American Economic Independence Act would analyze national security risks from current and predicted economic integration between the United States and China across the following economic sectors:
- Financial services;
- Critical minerals, including rare-earth elements;
- Semiconductors and microelectronics;
- Artificial intelligence;
- Communications, including telecommunications, social media applications, satellites and other space-based systems, and undersea cables;
- Quantum computing;
- Cloud-based systems, including computing services and data storage;
- Biotechnology;
- Pharmaceuticals and medical technology, including medical devices; and
- Manufacturing, including casting, machining, joining, and forming.
The American Economic Independence Act requires a comprehensive analysis that includes an assessment of:
- Each sector’s reliance on Chinese entities, including state-owned enterprises, for foreign direct investment and other sources of financial capital;
- Each sector’s reliance on supply chains that have a significant dependence on products or processes based in China;
- Risks of intellectual property theft or economic espionage by individuals or entities linked to the Chinese government or the Chinese Communist Party;
- An assessment of risks to the defense industrial base; and
- An assessment of the risks posed by the use of subsidies and the dumping of goods into the customs territory of the United States by entities in the People’s Republic of China, including entities owned or controlled by the Chinese government.