The Defense Department is making public for the first time a list of Chinese companies that are operating in the U.S. and are tied to the Chinese military. The list, obtained by Axios, includes Huawei, Hangzhou Hikvision, China Railway Construction Corporation, and China Telecommunications Corporation.
Why it matters: President Trump has the authority to invoke emergency economic powers, including sanctions, against the 20 companies on the list.
Background: The list was required by the 1999 National Defense Authorization Act, but was either not assembled or not made public, until now.
- It was included as part of a provision regarding the president’s ability to apply the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to Chinese military-linked companies operating within the United States.
- In 1999, Congress wanted to ensure that China’s entry to the World Trade Organization wouldn’t help the country access defense technologies that would improve China’s military capabilities against the U.S. or its allies.