Staff Reports
The letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin penned by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from both chambers of Congress is causing quite the stir, and it’s no wonder why! The Biden administration’s apparent allowance of U.S. companies to export technology to adversarial foreign entities has set off alarm bells and raised serious questions about America’s national security.
Another Biden Scandal Might Be Brewinghttps://t.co/dsUkYeJYCT
— EarthWrite (@Americasgarden) December 19, 2023
Since President Biden took office, the world seems to have become a more treacherous place. From Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to Iran-backed Hamas terrorists attacking Israel, it’s clear that America is facing significant threats from all corners of the globe. And let’s not even get started on China’s aggressive behavior towards Taiwan and its continuous harassment of the U.S. military and its allies in the region.
It seems that U.S. technology is making its way into the hands of entities that pose a direct threat to the United States and its allies. Sens. Joni Ernst, Marsha Blackburn, Todd Young, Marco Rubio, along with Reps. Elise Stefanik, Jimmy Panetta, Mike Gallagher, Rob Wittman, Rudy Yakym, Ronny Jackson, Michael Guest, and Darrel Issa are demanding answers, and they’re not going to let this slide.
The company at the center of the controversy is Da Jiang Innovations (DJI), a Chinese state-owned drone company that has been on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) Entity List since 2020. This listing was a result of DJI’s involvement in facilitating human rights abuses in China, particularly in surveilling Chinese Communist Party detention camps. The fact that DJI is actively working against America’s national security interests should make it a no-brainer to prohibit the issuance of export control licenses to them, yet they seem to have continued to benefit from U.S. technology through these licenses.
The lawmakers’ letter highlights that American companies should not be exporting their technology to DJI without an export license from the U.S. government. Despite DJI being on the Entity List, there is evidence that U.S. components are present in DJI drones, suggesting that the U.S. government is granting these licenses. This is incredibly concerning, especially given that DJI drones have been used by America’s adversaries for military purposes, in violation of U.S. export laws and sanctions. For example, Hamas used DJI drones to disable Israeli surveillance systems and drop munitions on Israeli forces, and the Russian military deployed DJI drones on the front lines of their war in Ukraine.
It’s absolutely ludicrous that American technology is ending up in the hands of those who directly threaten U.S. national security interests and the security of U.S. partners. The lawmakers are right to demand clarification on whether the Department of Defense supported the export of U.S. technologies that have enabled DJI to assist the CCP in repressing the Uyghur population and arming Iranian-backed Hamas and Russian military forces with drones.
While President Biden’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is acknowledging the growing threat from China and pledging to make the department’s Bureau of Industry and Security more robust. It seems like a case of talking the talk but not walking the walk! Additionally, the resignation of Stephen Coonen, a former U.S. Army artillery officer and foreign affairs officer, who exposed the ineffectiveness and willful blindness of the U.S. government’s export control regime, only adds fuel to the fire.
