As countries such as China try to obtain U.S. advanced technologies with military potential, an official from the Commerce Department said today that multilateral export controls will be crucial to maintain national security and stay ahead in the global tech race.
During today’s Senate Banking Committee hearing focused on advancing national security through export controls, one witness explained that the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is working to effectively apply export controls to “thwart China’s military modernization efforts.”
“We know that China is going to great lengths to obtain key U.S. advanced technologies with military potential, and we’re responding accordingly – as demonstrated by our October 2022 and 2023 advanced computing controls,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration Thea Kendler.
“These restrictions aimed to impede China’s ability to develop artificial intelligence systems used for the development of advanced weapons systems, malicious cyber activity, and other military and intelligence applications,” Kendler added.
Specifically, these export controls target advanced computing semiconductors and semiconductor manufacturing equipment.
Together with the CHIPS and Science Act – which made up to $52 billion of funding available to incentivize semiconductor makers to establish new manufacturing operations in the United States – Kendler said Commerce is working to protect U.S. innovation and national security.
“Multilateral coordination is crucial to export controls, full stop. We’re constantly building export control coalitions around the world on different critical and emerging technologies like semiconductors,” Kendler explained.
“We’re trying to target our controls and create them in a way, together with our interagency partners, that attacks the most important need,” she added. “The danger of not using multilateral controls is that we may fail where we’re damming half the river if it’s only the United States imposing controls and not our partners and allies or other supply countries.”
Kendler said the Commerce Department’s commitment to working with allies and partners on export controls “has never been stronger.”
In fact, she said the agency is currently in the process of finalizing controls on new critical and emerging technologies, including quantum, with its allies – some of which “have already taken parallel action.”
“U.S. technology is the best in the world. We need to take a leadership role to ensure that it’s not used in a way that is contrary to our values. By taking that stance and working with our allies through multilateral regimes, plurilateral regimes, bilateral relationships, we can bring others into that fold,” Kendler said.
Finally, while Kendler acknowledged that the hearing was not before an appropriations committee, she made the case for additional funding for BIS as it faces more sophisticated threats from China, Russia, and Iran.
“We need to resource our mission appropriately,” Kendler said, adding that BIS is in desperate need of funding for IT modernization efforts.
“If I had one ask it would be for funds for IT modernization. We need roughly $100 million to take antiquated systems and turn them into useful, productive data and analytic support,” she said. “With more funds, we would enhance our technical expertise, we would work on data and analytic capabilities, and certainly our enforcement capacity as well.”
