Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Protect U.S. National Security in Trade Negotiations

Wyden, Merkley, Colleagues Demand Trump Protect U.S. National Security in Trade Negotiations

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they have joined Senate colleagues to urge Donald Trump to protect the national security of the United States and our allies in trade negotiations with China.

The letter comes as Trump has already made significant concessions to China - highlighted in the letter - including weakening U.S. export controls on semiconductor chips, barring Taiwan's president from making a planned layover in the U.S., and offering little detail on how his administration will comply with the bipartisan TikTok law to limit Chinese Communist Party influence over the app.

"Ahead of your meeting with President Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday, we write to urge you not to negotiate away America and our allies' national security," the senators wrote. "The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) poses a fundamental threat to U.S. national security, economic prosperity, and global leadership…Across multiple administrations and congresses, there has been bipartisan support for tools that safeguard our national security, including export controls and investment screening mechanisms on critical technologies, as well as partnerships with trusted allies."

"We are deeply disturbed by your recent statements and actions, which indicate that you are all too willing to sacrifice these vital national security tools for empty promises and illusory 'wins'," the lawmakers wrote.

The senators continued by demanding that Trump:

• Reject Chinese efforts to relax national security restrictions on Chinese investments in the U.S.;
• Protect the work of the Treasury Department's Outbound Investment Security Program, which was designed to ensure U.S. firms do not contribute to the development of sensitive technologies in countries like China;
• Soundly deny any efforts by President Xi to extract a formal statement that the United States "opposes" Taiwan's independence.

"You have expressed confidence that you will leave South Korea this week with a "really fair and really great trade deal." We urge you to understand that any deal that sacrifices America or our allies' national security is neither," the senators concluded.

The letter was led by U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev. In addition to Wyden and Merkley, the letter was also signed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Chris Coons, D-Md., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii.

The full letter is here.