Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., chairman of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and Chinese Communist Party, and the committee’s ranking member Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., urged Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a Jan. 5 letter to stem U.S. reliance on “foundational” semiconductors produced in China.
The representatives are calling for Federal officials to “utilize all existing trade authorities to address the flow of PRC foundational semiconductors into the United States or to explain what new authorities or mechanisms are needed to protect our supply chains and our domestic producers of similar technology.”
Reps. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi questioned the Commerce Department secretary as well as United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai on whether the officials have sufficient authority to implement “component tariffs” on China’s legacy chips contained within finished products in order to counter that country’s move to flood U.S. markets.
“Urgent action is needed to prevent the PRC from dominating foundational chips, which would give the PRC excessive leverage over the modern global economy,” the lawmakers wrote. “If the United States becomes dependent on the PRC for foundational chips, our military and economic well-being may run the risk of being overly reliant on the Chinese Communist Party.”
Reps. Gallagher and Krishnamoorthi asked for a briefing within 60 days and answers to the following questions:
- Does the United States have sufficient authority to establish “component tariffs” that impose import duties on the foundational chip itself, rather than the finished product?
- If not, what additional authorities are needed?
- How can the U.S. work closely with our key trading partners to ensure that the U.S. is not acting alone and that U.S. actions are coupled with intensified efforts to help create new markets for U.S. exports globally?
