From: / Will Leahy, Manager, China Policy
To: / Asia Task Force, China AmChams
I) Legislative Update
II) SWF Hearing Update
I) Legislative Update
According to recent reports, H.R. 275, the Global Online Freedom Act, will likely be brought by House leadership to the floor for a vote the week of February 25th.
The bill, which stems in large part from a hearing held in February of 2006 on the business practices of American IT companies in China, was passed out of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in December, and is currently being reviewed by the Energy and Commerce and Judiciary Committees.
Among other provisions, the bill would prohibit U.S. businesses from “locating” any electronic communication that contains “personally identifiable information” in Internet-restricting countries. Such a provision, if passed, could place significant limits on the business operations of a wide-range of U.S. companies in China.
The U.S. Chamber will continue to monitor developments surrounding the bill and report accordingly.
II) SWF Hearing Update
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission has finalized the agenda for its February 7th hearing on the “Implications of Sovereign Wealth Fund Investments for National Security”:
562 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC20510
Updated February 5, 2008
Hearing Co chairs: Chairman Larry Wortzel and Commissioner Patrick Mulloy
8:45 am – 9:45 am Panel I: Congressional Perspectives
  • Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio)
  • Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio)
10:00 am – 11:00 am Panel II: Government Perspectives
  • Dr. Robert Dohner, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Asia, the Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC
  • Ms. Linda Chatman Thomsen, Director of the Division of Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, DC
11:15 am – 12:45 pm Panel III: Overview
  • Dr. Brad Setser, Fellow for Geoeconomics, Council on Foreign Relations, New York, NY
  • Dr. Peter Navarro, Business Professor, The Paul Merage School of Business, University of California, Irvine, CA
  • Dr. Michael Martin, Analyst in Asian Trade and Finance, Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm Lunch Break
1:45 pm – 3:15 pmPanel IV: Impact on Financial Services Industry
  • Dr. Charles Dallara, Managing Director, The Institute of International Finance, Washington, DC
  • Dr. Peter Morici, Professor of International Business, University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • Ms. Karen Shaw Petrou, Managing Partner, Federal Financial Analytics, Inc., Washington, DC
3:30 pm – 4:45 pmPanel V: Impact on National Security
  • Ms. Daniella Markheim, Senior Analyst in Trade Policy, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC
  • Mr. Alan Tonelson, Research Fellow, U.S. Business and Industry Foundation, Washington, DC
Chamber staff will cover the hearing and report on relevant developments.
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