Austin News

February 6, 2025

WASHINGTON – During a Senate Finance Committee hearing on the nomination of Jamieson Greer as United States Trade Representative under the Trump administration, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) discussed trade relationships with China and a proposal to restrict U.S. investments in certain Chinese technologies.

Senator Cornyn expressed concerns about China's practices, stating: “China cheats, China steals our intellectual property, and they don’t recognize a rules-based international order.” He emphasized the need for reciprocal trade policies, noting that President Trump highlighted this issue during his tenure.

Cornyn asked Greer if reciprocity should be a fundamental principle in trade policy. In response, Greer acknowledged Cornyn's leadership on investment flows with China and agreed on the necessity of balanced relations. “We do have to have a balanced relationship," Greer stated. "I think the United States has always been willing to have a balanced relationship with China, but there’s Chinese agency in this matter, and they need to decide how open they want to be to us.”

The discussion also touched on transparency concerning outbound investments in China. Cornyn mentioned efforts within the Banking Committee for an outbound investment transparency law and questioned whether such transparency is necessary regarding investments potentially aiding China's military modernization.

Greer affirmed the importance of transparency: “Having this kind of transparency is very important... consideration of this kind of control or data gathering information... goes right along with exploring that.”