Raimondo Would ‘consider’ Banning Chinese Companies If Congress Ok’d Authorities

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is open to banning any Chinese company that accesses U.S. data from doing business in America, she told POLITICO in a Thursday interview.

Raimondo said she would “consider” barring the operations of certain Chinese firms in the U.S., an escalation in the tit-for-tat between Washington and Beijing over technology and industry. But she would need relevant legislation, backed by Democrats and Republicans, to wind its way through Congress and give Commerce the ability to make such judgments.

It was her strongest statement yet on potential limits on Chinese companies — from automakers to social media companies — in the American market. Raimondo told lawmakers in October she was supportive of “attacking” the issue of data theft by Chinese companies in the U.S. but did not get specific.

The secretary’s proposal would mark another expansion of existing Biden administration efforts to crack down on Chinese-owned companies that collect U.S. data. Her remarks come after the Biden administration on Thursday announced a probe into connected vehicles made with Chinese parts that U.S. officials fear could capture sensitive personal data from Americans –– and just one day after President Joe Biden issued an executive order to protect sensitive personal data in the U.S.

Commerce, Raimondo noted, doesn’t currently have the statutory authority to prohibit any Chinese company absorbing and using Americans’ data. “There's room for a bipartisan bill in Congress to strengthen the tools in the Commerce Department,” she said.

Asked if she would consider restrictions on such Chinese firms if Commerce got the desired authorities, Raimondo said “yes.”

There’s legislation already circulating on the Hill that would give Commerce authority to take more action against Chinese companies collecting U.S. data. The first, the bipartisan RESTRICT Act, would empower the secretary of Commerce to prohibit transactions between U.S. persons and foreign adversaries, but some Republicans have raised concerns that the bill gives the agency too much power. The second legislative effort, the GUARD Act, is spearheaded by Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and would take a more narrow approach to empowering the Commerce Department.

“We need both more statutory authority, which I would be ready to use vigorously, and also the resources necessary to protect Americans,” Raimondo said, noting that the budget for the office in charge of national security-related export controls, the Bureau of Industry and Security, has remained flat for about a decade.

The administration has previously focused on taking steps to secure data collected by specific Chinese companies, in particular social media app TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance.

The U.S., from the White House to the Commerce Department, is especially concerned that Beijing could exploit its fast growing electric vehicle industry as a wedge to purloin personal data from American drivers — or send U.S. highways into mass gridlock.

The administration has taken a noticeably harder tone against China since the start of 2024, and not only in areas involving U.S. data. The nation’s top cybersecurity officials appeared in front of the House Select Committee on China last month to warn that Chinese government hackers have infiltrated U.S. critical infrastructure, and are “prepositioning” to cause chaos in the event of a conflict between Washington and Beijing.