Washington, DC - What They Are Saying: Support For President Donald J. Trump’s Section 301 Trade Actions:
Members of Congress
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY): “President Trump is exactly right this afternoon to propose a plan designed to punish China for its most flagrant trade abuses. I’ve called for such action for years and been disappointed by the inactions of both Presidents Bush and Obama. I’m very pleased that this Administration is taking strong action to get a better deal on China.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL): “President Trump’s trade actions against China are the right thing to do. China has used the wealth of the American people to crush human rights and destabilize our economic order. The actions announced today are good first steps toward re-asserting American economic leadership.”
Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK): “This is the first time in a long time that we’ve had a President who knows how to negotiate…. So far the stuff that he’s been doing has worked. I think this is going to work too.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC): “I’m very pleased and supportive of President Trump’s efforts to push back against China’s intellectual property theft, dumping, and other unfair trade practices. This pushback by President Trump is long overdue as a nation. I want to congratulate him for carrying out yet another campaign promise to push back against China for their unfair trade practices. If we continue this policy, China will over time change the way they do business which will be a Godsend for the American worker.”
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL): “I commend President Trump for his tough stand against Communist China, which has gotten away with unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft for far too long. The President’s commonsense measures aim to level the playing field for American businesses, which have been forced to compete against the PRC’s currency manipulations, IP theft, and other dishonest or coercive business practices…. Today’s announcement by the President is a good first step toward protecting American businesses and hard-won innovation.”
Cabinet Members & Administration Officials
Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin: “China has sought to gain access to intellectual property and cutting-edge technology developed by U.S. businesses through such wrongful practices as systemic, government-driven investment in U.S. companies, unreasonable requirements and limiting restrictions intended to pressure U.S. firms, and cyber-enabled intrusions. This conduct threatens our national interests, undermines the value of U.S. investments and technology, weakens the global competitiveness of our firms, and harms American workers. Today’s actions are designed to counter this conduct and address the threat it presents to U.S. national interests.”
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer: “President Trump has made it clear we must insist on fair and reciprocal trade with China and strictly enforce our laws against unfair trade. This requires taking effective action to confront China over its state-led efforts to force, strong-arm, and even steal U.S. technology and intellectual property. Years of talking about these problems with China has not worked. The United States is committed to using all available tools to respond to China’s unfair, market-distorting behavior. China’s unprecedented and unfair trade practices are a serious challenge not just to the United States, but to our allies and partners around the world.”
State Department Acting Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Heather Nauert: “By taking action to address Chinese policies and practices that are harming American innovation, @POTUS is confronting unfair trade practices that harm American commerce.”
Advocacy Organizations, Businesses Leaders, & Policy Experts
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army Van Hipp: “This is a national security issue that should unite all Americans behind the President’s action today. China’s antics over the years have inflicted real harm to our national security. Fortunately, we have a Commander-in-Chief who understands that and who will do whatever it takes to maintain America’s competitive edge.”
American Enterprise Institute Director of Asian Studies Daniel Blumenthal: “President Trump is finally taking much needed action against Chinese economic aggression. The United States government has long-recognized that the Communist Party of China uses a diverse toolkit of unfair trade practices to steal U.S. technology and intellectual property – the lifeblood of our economy. We have engaged in over a decade of dialogues with the highest levels of the Chinese Communist Party over these and other troubling economic practices. We have made very little progress. It is past time for action, and the Administration should be commended for prioritizing the defense of our national innovation base and finally recognizing the reality that the Communist Party of China has treated us as an economic, military and diplomatic competitor for decades.”
American Enterprise Institute Resident Scholar Derek Scissors: “Whether looking forward or backward, China’s coercive practices with regard with technology and intellectual property call for strong American action. Looking backward, China has engaged in by far the world’s largest campaign to steal trade secrets. It has also pressured foreign companies for years to ‘cooperate’ with Chinese firms in developing and applying technology, which translates to handing technology to future competitors. Looking forward, China describes global technological leadership as a top priority. China claims it will respect foreign intellectual property while seeking this leadership but that promise has been made and broken many times before. The Trump Administration correctly recognizes that the US is long overdue in responding to Chinese technology and trade secret theft.”
Center for the National Interest Director of Defense Studies Harry Kazianis: “When looked at as part of this bigger picture, we can see the new tariffs on Chinese products are the beginnings of a comprehensive U.S. strategy that’s in our national interest and that will protect American jobs and our economy from China’s unfair practices.”
Center for a New American Security, Asia-Pacific Security Program Senior Advisor and Senior Director Patrick Cronin: “The truth is that preserving the so-called liberal international order requires real reciprocity. Yet an accumulation of market distortions, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property theft, and other predatory trade and investment practices by China have made it more difficult to do business on a level playing field. The Trump Administration’s bold actions on Thursday amount to a measured strategic response to China’s growing economic aggression. Since the issuance in December of a new National Security Strategy in which major-power competition rose to top priority, Washington has made clear that it will no longer neglect the right to economic self-defense.”
Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Fellow for Asian Security Zack Cooper: “China’s intellectual property theft and other unfair trade practices undermine not only the U.S. economy, but also U.S. national security. Economic competition must take place within a rules-based system that rewards hard work and innovation. China’s intellectual property theft unfairly erodes U.S. competitiveness and weakens U.S. industries, including the defense industrial base. Therefore, it is critical that the United States work with allies and partners to change Chinese leaders’ decision calculus in order to safeguard our workers, industries, innovations, and independence.”
Coalition for a Prosperous America Chairman Daniel DiMicco and CEO Michael Stumo: “Our bipartisan coalition of manufacturing, agricultural and labor members strongly supports the President’s bold actions. Beijing has engaged in ‘economic aggression’ for more than 20 years and the largest IP theft in the history of the world economy. Government-owned firms have repeatedly hacked America’s leading companies and stolen proprietary technology to build China’s economy. Several CPA members have had their intellectual property stolen by Chinese firms. US companies that attempt to do business in China are forced to sign coercive agreements that require the transfer of key technologies in return for short-term market access. Additionally, their new Cybersecurity Law requires foreign companies already in China to surrender their data and IP. These are aggressive actions by a nation taking full advantage of American companies and workers and are destructive to both our economic and national security. It is past time for America to defend itself with our strategic response to their Strategic Policy of ‘economic aggression.’”
The Daily Beast Columnist Gordon Chang: “Chinese leaders, officials, and bureaucrats have for decades waged a campaign to undermine our companies, industrial base, and economy. This has been the fundamental challenge of our time. American leaders first ignored the comprehensive assault on our society and then to no avail appealed to Beijing to act responsibly. We now have no choice but to impose costs and President Trump’s action today is a critical step in the right direction.”
Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Richard Lawless: “The measures announced today reflect a considered and deliberate approach on the part of the Trump Administration to pro-actively address a range of critical national security issues defined by China’s determined acquisition of critical American technology, intellectual property and market position. These U.S. policy initiatives are long overdue and address a new reality – China’s success in leveraging the international trade system to systematically penetrate and occupy selected high technology sectors, and do so in a manner that will allow Chinese firms to dominate these sectors over future generations. These are no small ambitions on the part of China’s state-directed actors, reflecting as they do a well-constructed and sustained effort to elevate China writ large to dominate positions across a number of technology and product sectors. Most of the impacted sectors involve America’s defense industrial base, the core unpinning of our long-term national security. In a parallel effort to strip US and friendly foreign firms of essential technology and know-how, China state entities require companies desiring to operate in China proper to ‘share’ or transfer this information to domestic firms, resulting in the loss of leadership and market position for the extorted foreign firms. It is time to shine a laser beam of truth on these undertakings and execute an active defense posture that protects American strategic interests. That process has now begun.”
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems President David Alexander: “American innovation is a key pillar of our strength as a nation, but unabated theft of US defense technology erodes our national security and economic competitiveness. We applaud President Trump’s commitment and follow through to shore up the United States’ defenses against Chinese intellectual property theft and economic aggression.”
General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic: “In the aerospace and defense industry, our technological innovations drive our ability to deliver superior platforms and systems. Theft of these innovations poses a threat to our industrial base and to our national security. We support the Administration’s commitment to addressing the issue of state-sponsored intellectual property theft.”
Hudson Institute Director of the Center for Chinese Strategy Michael Pillsbury: “The President’s bold action today sends a powerful signal to China’s leaders that the United States is committed to upholding its economic and national security interests against the pervasive threat of Intellectual Property theft. President Trump and his Administration have acted carefully but with determination to preserve the cornerstone of U.S. innovation and competitiveness and to protect American national security.”
IronNet Cybersecurity President and CEO and Former Director of the National Security Agency Keith Alexander: “The theft of American intellectual property by China is one of the greatest transfers of wealth in history. This loss of our country’s intellectual capital from cyberattacks could impact our country for generations. And we should be using every element of our national power to prevent this activity and to protect companies and the government in cyberspace. The measures the White House has announced today are an important step to address this critical national security issue.”
Leidos Chairman and CEO Roger Krone: “Across sectors, there is an urgent need to protect our economic and national security interests. The Administration is taking tangible steps to not only protect US companies in the marketplace, but also to protect billions of dollars of research and development that can make the difference in the battlefield as well as in the balance of global trade. Our goal is to ensure that in a decade we will not look back to see a loss of market share, industrial capacity and billions of dollars in research and development that were all taken right under our noses.”
Lockheed Martin Chairman, President, and CEO Marillyn Hewson: “Lockheed Martin welcomes the Trump Administration’s focus on the critical need to protect U.S. defense and aerospace industry intellectual property.”
National Bureau of Asian Research President Richard Ellings: “The Administration is acting to protect American interests in the face of coordinated political and commercial pressure from China to take the intellectual property of American companies and force their transfer of technology. Our system must respond as an integrated whole to this challenge, and so charging the secretary of the Treasury to limit Chinese investment in the U.S. economy where it runs counter to American national security interests is a good first step.”
National Defense Industrial Association President and CEO Gen. Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle (Ret): “NDIA supports the Administration’s specific and targeted response to this threat. We see these actions as the first steps in a strategy that includes sustained, robust engagement with our international allies and partners. This will ensure U.S. actions have the maximum influence on China, bringing it into harmony with international norms and practices to ensure a reciprocal, fair environment for U.S. and allied industries and to secure a peaceful, productive and prosperous future.”
Northrop Grumman Chairman and CEO Wes Bush: “Northrop Grumman applauds the President’s focus on protecting US intellectual property and strengthening our national security.”
Raytheon Chairman and CEO Thomas Kennedy: “Ongoing cyber threats and IP theft undertaken by state sponsors pose a national security issue for our country and weaken the competitiveness of American industries and workers. The public-private partnership supported by the Administration – and the penalties outlined today – are key to our collective ability to defend against future threats.”
Sasakawa Peace Foundation USA Chairman and Former Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair: “It has been almost five years since the Intellectual Property Commission recommended strong action, rather than words, to stop the flow of America’s precious innovative edge to China. We welcome the President’s action today. This is the first time foreign intellectual property thieves face real consequences beyond hearing lectures. This is a solid first step towards dealing with Chinese economic aggression against this country. It is unlikely to be the last.”
U.S.–China Economic and Security Review Commission Member Michael Wessel: “Intellectual property is fundamental to the national and economic security of our country. For far too long, U.S. Administrations have essentially stood by while China, by hook or by crook, has harvested our intellectual property. This action makes clear that we’re not going to simply have more dialogue about the threats to our economy, our manufacturing base and our jobs. China’s direct and coercive theft of our intellectual property has had a huge cost to our country and the 301 response makes clear that we aren’t going to continue to allow it to happen.”
