COVID-19: Legislation introduced in Congress to bring back US companies from China

An influential US lawmaker has introduced a legislation in Congress to provide incentives to American companies to move back their manufacturing units from China in view of the coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 90,000 people in the country.

The Bring American Companies Home Act, introduced by Congressman Mark Green, seeks to cover the 100 per cent of their moving costs with the tariffs President Donald Trump has levied on the Chinese imports.

“Attracting investment in America is essential to reigniting our economy. But one of the big disincentives for American companies moving back to our soil is the cost. For many companies, it's too expensive and too risky to undertake an international move at a time of such global economic uncertainty,” Green said.

“China has made clear it is not a reliable partner. To get America growing again, and to reduce our dependence on China, let's open the doors of opportunity and incentivise investment right here in our country. My bill is a pro-growth, common-sense policy to do just that,” he said.

Green has also introduced the “Secure Our Systems Against China's Tactics Act” which prevents China's strategic acquisitions during the pandemic by incentivising American investors to back vulnerable companies that are critical to the US national security.

Congressmen Ron Wright and Marc Veasey have introduced the bipartisan Airport Infrastructure Resources (AIR) Security Act to protect critical US transportation infrastructure from China's espionage and IP theft.

The legislation prohibits the federal airport improvement funds from being used to purchase passenger boarding bridges from companies that have violated the IP rights and threaten the national security of the United States.

From day one of this pandemic, Communist China has been reckless and negligent in their COVID-19 response. They failed to communicate the disease's seriousness to the rest of the global community, leading to the death of thousands of Americans, not to mention their own people. Make no mistake, the Communist Party of China will stop at nothing to gain power and control, Wright said, adding that “we cannot afford to give them inroads to our most critical systems”.

“The national security threat China and other adversaries pose to our transportation industry cannot be underestimated,” Senator John Cornyn said.

Meanwhile, Congressman Jim Banks, a member of the House China Task Force, and Congressmen Dan Crenshaw and Lance Gooden, sent a letter urging Secretaries Mike Pompeo and Steven Mnuchin to impose Magnitsky Sanctions on seven CPC officials for gross human rights abuse, and negligent and hostile behavior that greatly increased the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Chinese regime's open threat to interfere in American elections is just the latest of many aggressive, hostile actions. It is desperate to avoid responsibility, so it has reverted to desperate tactics. I'm neither surprised nor intimidated -- I'm encouraged,” Banks added.

The US and China signed the phase one of their trade deal on January 16 to end the 22-month-long trade war during which the two countries slapped tit-for-tat tariff hikes over products worth nearly half-a-trillion dollars.

More than 300,000 people have died due to the coronavirus pandemic and over 4.8 million people infected around the world. The US is the worst-hit country with over 90,000 deaths and over 1.5 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.