Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) has introduced a bipartisan bill to bolster the China and Transformational Exports Program (CTEP) and maintain America's edge over China in exports.
What is CTEP?
The China and Transformational Exports Program is a mandate for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) that allows American companies in artificial intelligence (AI), biotech, quantum computing, semiconductors, and other cutting-edge technologies to maintain their competitive edge against Chinese companies in the same industries through EXIM financing support, extended repayment tenors, and exceptions to conflicting EXIM policies.
What Gallego's Bill Does
Sen. Gallego's China Subsidy Response and Export Competitiveness Act gives EXIM greater flexibility to address Chinese practices that undercut American competition, adds medical manufacturing to the list of transformational exports to reduce reliance on foreign-made drugs, and folds the production of printed circuit boards into the semiconductor transformational export area, further reducing reliance on Chinese-made tech.
"Over the past two decades, Arizona has lost nearly 66,000 manufacturing jobs to China, fueled by China's trade cheating and unfair subsidies," said Sen. Gallego in a press release. "We need to level the playing field. By making the China and Transformational Exports Program more competitive and more flexible, this bill helps get us there."
Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE), the bill's cosponsor, commented, "Communist China doesn't compete fairly. It cheats by subsidizing its industries to undercut American companies and corner critical supply chains. This bill gives the Export-Import Bank the tools to fight back. When Americans compete on a level playing field, they win. The China Subsidy Response and Export Competitiveness Act will protect America's jobs and our national security."
Gallego's Previous Bills
The Arizona Senator has sought to prevent Chinese manufacturing dominance before, previously introducing the Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act last February, which builds upon the 2015 Leveling the Playing Field Act by establishing "successive investigations" to expedite new cases against companies and countries that repeatedly violate trade laws when moving production to another country.
In May, Gallego introduced the Protecting Circuit Boards and Substrates Act, which provides a 25% tax credit for the purchase or acquisition of American-made printed circuit boards (PCBs).
