[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2784]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                            Trade with China

  Mr. President, on the matter of ongoing trade negotiations with 
China, as I have said many times, when it comes to being tough on 
China's trading practices, I am closer to President Trump than to 
either President Obama or President Bush. I think the President 
recognized that fact in a tweet this morning.
  When President Trump threatened tariffs and investment restrictions 
in the face of China's blatant theft and extortion of our intellectual 
property, I gave the President a pat on the back. Our companies need to 
be able to sell our goods and services in China without having to turn 
over intellectual property.
  I have mentioned this before, but here is one example that pains me, 
and it is so typical. GE employs thousands in Schenectady. They have 
intellectual property and know-how to make turbines spin very fast and 
not overheat, but China wouldn't let them sell them. So what did they 
do? The Chinese blackmailed them, and GE went along. There is a 51-49 
company that now makes those turbines in China. That is great for the 
heads of GE, great for their board, and great for the stock for a few 
years. But after that, once China--now in this 51-49 company--has 
learned how to make these turbines themselves, we are gone. More good-
paying jobs could be lost in upstate New York, as they have been 
throughout America.
  President Trump's actions at first helped bring China to the table, 
but now President Trump and his team have to stick with it, be strong, 
and negotiate a strong, concrete agreement. The worst thing to do would 
be to sell out for a one-time, temporary purchase of goods without 
addressing the real issue: the theft of intellectual property and know-
how, which costs us millions of American jobs.
  Unfortunately, it seems too strong a possibility that President Trump 
is headed down the road of not being strong. The President said this 
morning: ``China has agreed to buy massive amounts of ADDITIONAL Farm/
Agricultural products.'' Secretary Mnuchin, hardly a tower of strength 
on this issue, has said that the administration would ``follow this 
up'' on this vague commitment and that $150 billion in proposed tariffs 
would be put ``on hold.''
  It is deeply disappointing that thus far President Trump has won no 
concessions on intellectual property and has locked in no new market 
access. In reality, there were not even specific commitments of U.S. 
good purchases, not that such a commitment would undo the damage China 
continues to do to us in its other activities.
  If nothing else changes, this deal is a win-win for China. They avoid 
tough actions on intellectual property and give us some temporary and 
relatively small relief by buying some goods. China's trade negotiators 
must be laughing themselves all the way back to Beijing. They know what 
they are doing. They are playing us for fools. A temporary purchase of 
some goods, while China continues to steal our family jewels, the 
things that have made America great, the intellectual property, the 
know-how in the highest end industries--it makes no sense. China is 
pushing the President around, and he seems to accept it.

  Worse still, the President's team is still talking about giving 
relief to China's state-backed telecommunications giant, ZTE, a company 
that violated our sanctions laws and is considered a national security 
threat. It is totally backward. The way to win real concessions from 
China is to stay tough, not to bluster and then back off at the first 
sign of friction.
  So I say to President Trump, who knows I genuinely want him to 
succeed with China: Stay strong. Don't back off sanctions on ZTE. You 
have to pursue the course, or China will continue to enjoy the upper 
hand.
  Congress also has a say on this issue. I was gratified to see that 
last week, Democrats and Republicans, in a House Appropriations 
subcommittee, approved a measure that would block the President from 
weakening sanctions on ZTE. Senate Democrats will also consider 
additional measures, if necessary, to block relief for ZTE, and we hope 
our Republican colleagues will join us in that effort.
  The United States cannot let China continue to steal America's 
lifeblood, our intellectual property, and flout international trade 
laws. If President Trump doesn't get tough with them now, China will 
know he is willing to back down at the first sign of resistance. It 
will be a sad day for America--for America's workers, for our future 
wealth, and for our future prosperity. It will help make China replace 
us as No. 1. It is crucial.