Sanctions have become a preferred policy option, not a measure of last resort. It has become too easy to call for new sanctions without any real consideration of the likely impact or consequences. Unfortunately, our high-tech industry is usually the biggest loser. We must seek much closer consultations between the Congress and the executive branch on sanctions issues. Our mission at the Commerce Department is to promote both national security and U.S. exports.
National security is the highest priority.
Nonetheless, questions have been raised about certain licensing decisions on satellites. They involve whether export control laws were violated when American satellites were launched by Chinese rockets. This is being investigated by the Congress. If there was wrongdoing, it should be punished. And the critics are simply wrong to suggest that the transfer of jurisdiction over communications satellites to the Commerce Department in 1996 in any way jeopardized our national security.