I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2964 

To codify the denial of export privileges and related provisions under title 

15, Code of Federal Regulations. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 4, 2021 

Mr. BUCK introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To codify the denial of export privileges and related 

provisions under title 15, Code of Federal Regulations. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds the following: 

5 (1) The Founders of the United States viewed 

6 intellectual property rights as fundamental rights 

7 that must be protected by the government. 

8 (2) Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the United 

9 States Constitution affirmatively defends the individ10 ual’s right to protect intellectual property by grantVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Jun 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2964.IH H2964

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1 ing Congress power ‘‘to promote the Progress of 

2 Science and Useful arts, by securing, for limited 

3 Times, to Authors and Inventors, the exclusive Right 

4 to their respective Writings and Discoveries’’. 

5 (3) The Commission on the Theft of American 

6 Intellectual Property estimates that intellectual 

7 property theft costs the United States economy ap8 proximately $600 billion annually. 

9 (4) A March 1, 2019, CNBC poll found that 

10 one-in-five United States corporations say that 

11 China has stolen proprietary intellectual property 

12 within the last year and one-in-three United States 

13 corporations state that China has stolen their intel14 lectual property within the last decade. 

15 (5) The Commission on the Theft of American 

16 Intellectual Property further reports that China’s in17 dustrial policies call for the ‘‘absorption, digestion, 

18 and re-innovation of foreign intellectual property to 

19 meet the Made in China 2025 goal of 40 percent 

20 self-sufficiency by 2020 and 75 percent by 2025’’. 

21 (6) The Chinese Government remains the 

22 world’s principle source of intellectual property theft. 

23 (7) China engages in foreign ownership restric24 tions that include joint venture requirements and ad25 ministrative reviews that pressure United States 


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1 companies to transfer intellectual property and pro2 prietary technology to Chinese companies. 

3 (8) China imposes harmful contractual obliga4 tions on United States companies seeking to license 

5 their proprietary technology to Chinese-based firms 

6 and is engaged in a purposeful and unfair practice 

7 of acquiring United States businesses to generate 

8 technology transfers. 

9 (9) The Chinese Government is engaged in 

10 cyberattacks against United States businesses, mili11 tary installations, and government entities, including 

12 the United States Office of Personnel Management, 

13 resulting in the theft of untold proprietary informa14 tion and commercial trade secrets. 

15 (10) China is undertaking the ‘‘greatest intel16 lectual property theft in human history’’ according 

17 to former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper. 

18 (11) Congress must take bold action to combat 

19 the Chinese Government’s concerted efforts to per20 petrate cyber-attacks against United States entities 

21 and steal United States intellectual property. 

22 (12) Denial orders are issued by the Assistant 

23 Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement of 

24 the Bureau of Industry and Security to deny the ex25 port privileges of an entity or individual. A denial of 


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1 export privileges prohibits the person from partici2 pating in any way in any transaction subject to the 

3 Export Administration Regulations (EAR). Further4 more, it is unlawful for any other entity or indi5 vidual to participate in any way in an export trans6 action subject to the EAR with a person subject to 

7 a denial order. 

8 (13) On April 16, 2018, former Secretary of 

9 Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Bureau 

10 of Industry and Security of the Department of Com11 merce had issued an order to deny the export privi12 leges of Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment 

13 Corporation of Shenzhen, China (‘‘ZTE Corpora14 tion’’) and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications Ltd. 

15 of Hi-New Shenzhen, China. 

16 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

17 It is the sense of Congress that— 

18 (1) denial orders are an important foreign pol19 icy tool to use against foreign entities and individ20 uals, especially Chinese persons, with a pattern of 

21 violating United States laws, especially laws relating 

22 to intellectual property; and 

23 (2) the Department of Commerce should vigor24 ously utilize denial orders to hold such persons ac25 countable. 


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1 SEC. 3. STRATEGY. 

2 Not later than one year after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Commerce, in consulta4 tion with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Treas5 ury, and Attorney General, shall submit to Congress a 

6 strategy regarding how denial orders issued by the Bureau 

7 of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce 

8 to deny the export privileges of foreign entities and indi9 viduals, especially entities and individuals located in 

10 China, can be better utilized as part of a holistic approach 

11 to hold such entities and individuals accountable for theft 

12 of United States intellectual property. 

13 SEC. 4. CODIFICATION OF DENIAL OF EXPORT PRIVILEGES 

14 AND RELATED PROVISIONS UNDER TITLE 15, 

15 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS. 

16 The provisions of part 730 of title 15, Code of Fed17 eral Regulations, relating to general information, and sec18 tion 766.25 of such title, relating to administrative action 

19 denying export privileges, are hereby enacted into law. 

Æ 


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