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Gallagher, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Ban Malign Chinese Companies from Exploiting U.S. Financial Markets

November 20, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), alongside Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Chris Stewart (R-UT), today introduced the American Financial Markets Integrity and Security Act, which would prohibit any Chinese companies from accessing U.S. capital markets if they are listed on the U.S. Department of Commerce Entity List or the U.S. Department of Defense list of Communist Chinese military companies. In addition to prohibiting these companies from being listed on securities exchanges, this bill would also prohibit investment from investment companies, insurance companies, and retirement funds. Click HEREfor bill text.
 
"The Chinese Communist Party is engaged in a relentless campaign to dominate the critical technologies of tomorrow. Unfortunately, it receives unwitting assistance from many Americans who have no idea their hard-earned investments are directly financing many of these malign actors,"said Rep. Gallagher. "This legislation builds on the President's actions against Communist Chinese military companies last week, and takes decisive action to defend our capital markets—and our technological superiority—against threats to our way of life."
 
"The Chinese Communist Party regularly breaches America's shores to steal our intellectual property, engage in espionage, feed off our markets, and more. The U.S. must counter the CCP's efforts to take advantage of our free and open system here at home, in addition to doing all we can to counter the CCP's malign activities abroad. This legislation is a critical step toward making sure that CCP military companies can no longer exploit U.S. markets in support of China's pernicious power projection, nuclear build-up, grave human rights abuses, and other malign activities,"said Rep. Liz Cheney.
 
"U.S. capital markets are the envy of the world. Access to these markets is a privilege and we should be under no obligation to allow our adversaries, that intend to do us harm, access. This bill protects our markets from exploitation and bans companies with ties to the CCP and their military, espionage, and human rights abuses,"said Rep. Chris Stewart.
 
Last week, President Trump announced an Executive Order that similarly banned U.S. investment in Chinese companies identified on lists released in June and August 2020 by the Pentagon. The American Financial Market Integrity and Security Act includes those companies and companies that are involved in the Chinese Communist Party's military, espionage, human rights abuses, "Military-Civil Fusion Strategy," and the Made in China 2025' industrial policy.
 
Last year, Rep. Gallagher introduced the Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges (EQUITABLE) Act, which would ban Chinese and foreign firms that disregard U.S. accounting laws from being listed on U.S. exchanges.
 
Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mike Braun (R-IN) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate last month.