House Foreign Affairs Ranking Member Meeks, Kamlager-Dove Demand Secretary Lutnick Provide Answers on Reported Pause on Security Actions Against China

Washington, D.C. - Representative Gregory W. Meeks, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on South and Central Asia, today sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick expressing concern over reports that the Trump administration suspended several U.S. national security and technology-related measures against China. The lawmakers demanded written responses on what commercial restrictions and related measures were paused, who directed those decisions, and whether a national or technology security assessment has been made.

Text of the letter is below. A PDF copy of the letter can be found here.

Dear Secretary Lutnick,

We write with great concern that the Department of Commerce may be neglecting its statutory responsibility to protect America's national security and technology leadership by delaying or suspending actions targeting the People's Republic of China (PRC). On February 12, Reuters reported that "the Trump administration has shelved a number of key tech security measures aimed at Beijing ahead of an April meeting between the two countries' presidents." As members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, we request clarification regarding these reported decisions.

According to the report, the Department halted several crucial security measures, including restrictions on sales in the United States by TP-Link, China Unicom, and China Mobile as well as of PRC electric trucks. Given the bipartisan consensus that the PRC represents our greatest geopolitical competitor, Commerce has a duty to prevent sensitive U.S. technology and critical infrastructure from exposure to malign actors. Reports that staff were directed to prioritize other countries over China, along with leadership changes and a rollback of prior export controls raise additional concerns about whether BIS is being permitted to carry out its mandate.

The Administration's actions suggest a troubling pattern of sacrificing America's national and economic security to stabilize relations with China and resolve the trade war the President himself started. Accordingly, we request written responses by March 6, 2026, to the following:

1. Over the past year, did BIS personnel recommend or plan restrictions on sales of PRC electric trucks or by TP-Link, China Unicom, or China Mobile?
   1. If so, what specific restrictions or bans were being proposed in each case?
   2. If so, what was the justification for the proposed restriction in each case?
2. What specific PRC-focused actions have been paused or delayed by the Department or BIS in the past year?
3. Who directed these decisions and what was the rationale?
4. What is the anticipated duration of the pause on PRC-focused actions?
5. Have you or senior leaders at the Bureau of Industry and Security issued any guidance, formal or informal, to staff to ignore China, and focus on other nations instead?
6. For each of the PRC-focused actions that have been paused, has the Department made an assessment of the national security and technology security consequences? If so, please share those assessments with the committee.