WASHINGTON DC—Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) has sent a letter to Department of Commerce Under Secretary Kathi Vidal, urging the Administration to provide a full accounting of the national security damage caused by the United States and China's Science and Technology Agreement (STA). Despite claims from the Biden Administration that the STA has resulted in no dual-use technology transfer, concerns remain about its potential impact on U.S. national security.
The letter was also signed by Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY), and Representatives Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Andy Barr (R-KY), Michelle Steel (R-CA), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL). The lawmakers stated, "We believe the U.S.-PRC STA is a vector to give the PRC access to U.S. dual-use research and presents a clear national security risk...The Biden Administration must stop fueling our own destruction and allow the STA to expire."
The lawmakers have requested specific information from the Commerce Department and its U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to assess any damage already caused to U.S. national security. They seek details on patents filed annually at the USPTO since 2010 that were funded by the U.S. government and included a Chinese inventor, as well as information on technology classes for these inventions, funding agencies, affiliations with Chinese military entities, and any similar patents filed in China.
Previously, the Select Committee urged the Administration to let the STA expire. The agreement had been set to expire in August 2023 but has been extended twice by the Biden Administration.
In June of last year, the Select Committee wrote to Secretary Blinken urging suspension of the arrangement due to concerns over its contribution to China's military-civil fusion goals. Additionally, Representative Andy Barr’s Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act of 2024 was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requiring future STAs to include protections for human rights and prevent diversion of U.S. research to China's military.
Under 35 U.S.C., USPTO is obligated to advise federal departments on intellectual property policy both domestically and internationally. Congress seeks a comprehensive understanding of how renewing a U.S.-PRC Science and Technology Agreement might threaten intellectual property and national security.
The lawmakers request that USPTO respond within 30 days with detailed information regarding patents involving Chinese inventors funded by U.S. government agencies since 2010.
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