A bipartisan group of three freshmen Senators introduced legislation Wednesday to give President Donald Trump’s administration the authority to halt investments from foreign companies, notably China, in the United States.
Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) sponsored the Providing Rigorous Oversight Through Evaluation of Concerning Transactions Act. If passed, it would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. a new authority to stop new and existing foreign investment projects.
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The legislation would “require the review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States of greenfield and brownfield investments by foreign countries of concern.”
In a statement, Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, said the proposal is necessary for national security. She emphasized the importance of keeping “sensitive American land” out of the hands of companies based in China, Iran, or North Korea.
“To address that risk, this bipartisan bill builds on my work in the U.S. House and gives more authority to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to examine a broader set of transactions,” she said. “That means we can stop land purchases that pose an actual risk to our national security.”
TRUMP PAUSES TARIFFS FOR 90 DAYS ON DOZENS OF COUNTRIES, RAISES RATE ON CHINA TO 125%
The legislation was introduced the same day that Trump’s 104% total tariff on China, which he later raised to 125%, went into effect. China responded with an additional 84% tariff on U.S. imports.
In an interview with NBC News, Moreno said, “We don’t want to go to war with China; that’s not the goal here. But we have to stop being suckers, as President Trump talks about.”