Treasury Department

The Treasury Department has signaled to key lawmakers and stakeholders that it is willing to enact elements of a bill to overhaul the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States through an executive order as part of the Trump administration’s response to China’s intellectual property and tech transfer practices, sources familiar with the internal deliberations say.

“Obviously we're not going to do this and lay out our negotiations in the public domain. I am in communications.”

“It is transformative in terms of the way the Treasury Department is dealing with this. My hope is that we end up with language that deals with transparency and deals with competitive devaluations.”

House and Senate Republicans and major business groups are stepping up last-minute efforts to convince President Trump not to slap global tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, with lawmakers discussing possible legislative actions and the leaders of key committees preparing letters urging that Trump take more tailored actions to combat only “true abusers.”

Two top Trump administration officials this week voiced optimism about concluding the renegotiation of NAFTA and dodging withdrawal from the deal.

The Trump administration on Thursday presented a unified front in favor of reforming and expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, with officials from the Treasury, Commerce and Defense departments telling the Senate Banking Committee they back a bill pushed by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) but want to avoid signaling that the U.S. is discouraging investment.

The White House is considering the creation of a reciprocal investment regime with China following a Section 301 investigation into Chinese technology and intellectual property policies, but some in the administration fear it would lead to stock market losses and negatively affect U.S. companies doing business in China, private-sector sources briefed by White House officials told Inside U.S. Trade.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), the chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, said Tuesday that President Trump will by August be sent a bill to update the national security watchdog, but not necessarily the legislation being pushed Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) and supported by some of Trump’s Cabinet.