‘We Must Have A Global Economy Where America Is The Leader’: Scott Demands Continued Innovation’

3 months ago

On Thursday, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) delivered remarks on the global threat of mishandled commerce innovations during a Senate Banking Committee hearing.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you Mr. Chairman. I would like to start by reminding this room and our

00:05witnesses of the important role they play in safeguarding our nation's

00:08economic and national security priorities. President Reagan once rightly

00:12noted that we are in a different world and our defenses must be based on

00:16recognition and awareness to combat our enemies of the modern day. While he was

00:22talking about the Soviets, unfortunately many of our adversaries remain the same.

00:27Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. But thankfully what also remains the same is

00:33the American spirit to innovate and to create the world's leading technologies.

00:38My home state of South Carolina is an excellent example. From F-16s to the

00:43world's best luxury airliners to leading automotive manufacturing to creating

00:48next-generation technologies, I'd say South Carolina is simply our future. But

00:55to safeguard that future we must ensure that policies created here in

00:58Washington don't cut off growth and stifle future innovation. We must have a

01:04global economy where America is the leader. After more than three years of

01:11President Biden's policies, we have seen soaring inflation that's crushing

01:17everyday Americans. Wars across our globe and our enemies challenging us and

01:25our allies at every single turn. We can and we must frankly do better. So today

01:33as we discuss and evaluate some of our economic national security tools, our

01:38export controls, investment security and the Defense Production Act, we must keep

01:44these principles in mind. At times we must be willing to reassess our policies

01:49and retool our positions and frankly let's consider our allies. One thing we

01:56certainly learned through COVID was depending on China is a really bad

02:01strategy. To be effective in countering China, we must work with our allies so

02:07that China cannot easily find workarounds to our U.S. export controls

02:12by simply buying these same technologies and equipment from our friends. A failure

02:18to look holistically at our economic strategy can and will damage American

02:23security, competitiveness and unfairly leave U.S.-led industry behind. In fact a

02:30recent study by the New York Federal Reserve found that the Biden

02:33administration's export control policies on the semiconductor industry have led

02:39to decreased profitability, job losses and a hundred and thirty billion dollars

02:46in financial loss across the industry. With new reports that these types of

02:52policies have directly led to thousands of layoffs in states ranging from Ohio

02:58to New York, we must scrutinize the actions leading to these results. But it

03:04doesn't stop there. In my home state of South Carolina, recent actions by the

03:09Commerce Department to revoke thousands of export license for gun manufacturers

03:14have resulted in millions of dollars in losses. I've sent three letters to the

03:19Commerce Department on this issue and now reports suggest that we will

03:24see over five hundred million dollars in annual losses across U.S. firearm

03:30manufacturers. Mr. Chairman, I have a letter here that I would like to submit

03:36for the record. Objection, sir. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In my home state of South Carolina, a

03:41small minority-owned firearms business had more than 71 million dollars worth

03:47of export licenses revoked by the Biden Commerce Department. Unfortunately, this

03:53meant that the firm defaulted on multiple international contracts and now

03:58those same contracts are being backfilled by China and others. And it is

04:04my understanding that these licenses were revoked for foreign policy reasons

04:09such as furtherance of world peace. So instead of supporting American companies,

04:16we just handed over the marketplace to China. Export controls, investment

04:22security, and important tools like the Defense Production Act

04:27should be used in a responsible manner that maximizes growth here at home and

04:31economic pain for our adversaries. I strongly believe that when we have a

04:36better domestic environment, a better ability to innovate and manufacture, that

04:41means that America is winning. Thank you and I look forward to discussing these

04:45important issues with our witnesses.

‘We Must Have A Global Economy Where America Is The Leader’: Scott Demands Continued Innovation’

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