US Senate advances sweeping tech bill taking aim at China

The full version of the article, along with thousands like it, can be found on the following page: US Senate advances sweeping tech bill taking aim at China

The US Senate has advanced a sweeping package of legislation intended to boost the country's ability to compete with Chinese tech, as Congress increasingly seeks to take a tough line against Beijing.

Senators voted 68-30 to end debate on the $250 billion US Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, or USICA, and move nearer to a final vote on the legislation.

The desire for a hard line in dealings with China is one of the few truly bipartisan sentiments in the deeply divided US Congress, which is narrowly controlled by President Joe Biden's fellow Democrats.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who co-wrote the USICA legislation, said the US spends less than 1% of gross domestic product on basic scientific research, less than half of what China does.

"We have put ourselves in a very precarious position of potentially falling behind the rest of the world in the technologies and industries that will define the next century," he said in Senate remarks urging support for the bill.

The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the legislation.

The exact timing of a final Senate vote was not clear, as lawmakers continued to debate next steps behind closed doors on Thursday evening.

Once it passes the Senate, the bill must also pass the House of Representatives to be sent to the White House for Biden to sign into law.

The measure authorizes about $190 billion for provisions to strengthen US technology in general, plus $54 billion specifically to increase production of semiconductors, microchips and telecommunication equipment.

The legislation also seeks to counter Beijing's growing global influence through diplomacy, by working with allies and increasing US involvement in international organizations after former President Trump pulled Washington out as part of his "America First" agenda.

As it considered the legislation, the Senate approved by 91-4 an amendment backed by Republican Senator Mike Crapo and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden to retaliate against what they consider China's anti-competitive trade practices and bar products determined to have been produced using forced labor.

The team at Platform Executive hope you have enjoyed this article. Automatic translation from English to a growing list of languages via Google AI Cloud Translation. Initial reporting via our official content partners at Thomson Reuters. Reporting by Patricia Zengerle and David Shepardson. Editing by Alistair Bell and Sam Holmes.

You can stay on top of all the latest developments across the platform economy, find solutions to your key challenges and gain access to our problem-solving toolkit and proprietary databases by becoming a member of our growing community. For a limited time, our subscription plans start from just $7 per month. What are you waiting for?

This news article was published by Platform Executive, the home of the platform economy.

If you enjoy the content then please post a link on your website, or share on social media to help us get the word out.

US Senate advances sweeping tech bill taking aim at China posted first on https://www.platformexecutive.com/