WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) and Trade Subcommittee Chairman Dave Reichert (R-WA) today released the following statements after President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum calling for United States Trade Representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer to use the agency’s Section 301 authority to determine whether to investigate Chinese policies that encourage or require the transfer of American technology to Chinese enterprise as the cost of doing business in the country. 

Welcoming the President’s action, Chairman Brady said:

“I am pleased that President Trump has targeted China’s forced technology policies. These practices have unfairly forced American companies to surrender vital intellectual property to their Chinese competitors as the price for doing business. I look forward to working closely with the Administration to determine the appropriate steps for the United States to take so we can end a practice that has caused so much harm to our innovators.”

Trade Subcommittee Chairman Reichert added:

“I welcome the Administration’s leadership in addressing China’s forced technology transfer requirements. The U.S. economy and so many jobs depend on the strength of our technology companies, including some of our nation’s leading tech companies headquartered in my home state of Washington. But the ability of our businesses to compete is severely undermined when China robs them of their most valuable assets to benefit its own technology sector. I am committed to working closely with the Administration as it undertakes its review and decides on appropriate action to end these practices once and for all.”