Chairman Mast, Colleagues Commend Trump Administration’s Closure of BIS Loophole

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast joined fellow Republicans in championing the Trump Administration’s decision to create the 50% subsidiary rule for the Bureau of Industry and Security’s Entity List and Military End-User List.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast said:

“We are in a must-win, generation-defining battle shaping the future of technology. This critical measure bolsters U.S. national security and safeguards American technological leadership by closing loopholes that allow bad actors to evade restrictions and preventing them from accessing our sensitive technology.

This commonsense move aligns the Commerce Department’s Entity List and Military End-User List rules with the Treasury Department’s sanctions rules. No longer will blacklisted companies be able to use subsidiaries to circumvent export controls. As adversaries like China and Russia attempt to exploit vulnerabilities, this is more important now than ever. The committee is working to codify President Trump’s decisive action.”

House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar (MI-02) said:  

"President Trump is putting America first and preventing CCP-tied entities from accessing U.S. technology through hiding their ownership in foreign front companies. As the Chairman of the Select Committee on China, I'll continue working to ensure Chinese firms cannot manipulate our export controls and undermine our national security interests,"

House Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee Chairman Keith Self (TX-03) said:

“The U.S. will not tolerate shell companies and subsidiaries bypassing laws and sanctions to shield our adversaries. I applaud the Trump Administration for closing this loophole. In Congress, I lead the STOP Shells Act to codify this decision.”

House Foreign Affairs South and Central Asia Subcommittee Chairman Bill Huizenga (MI-04) said:

“Now more than ever, we should be closing loopholes that our adversaries exploit to circumvent export controls and diminish America’s technological edge. As Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services and Chairman of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, with jurisdiction over BIS, I have a unique perspective on the effectiveness of applying longstanding Treasury sanction rules to the Commerce Department’s Entity List.  This decision protects our technological advantage by ensuring that those parties and countries that pose a risk to U.S. national security will not benefit from American goods or services.” 

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