Barr Demands Transparency on U.S.-PRC Science and Technology Agreement

Washington, DC - Last week, U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) joined several colleagues in sending a letter to the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Kathi Vidal which urges the Biden Administration to provide a full account of the national security damage caused by the Science and Technology Agreement (STA) between the United States and People's Republic of China (PRC).

Specifically, the information requested would include the number of patents filed annually at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) since 2010 that were funded by the U.S. government and included a Chinese inventor, the technology classes for these inventions which US government agency funded these inventions and the name of the Chinese entity that employed the Chinese inventor. Additionally, Representative Barr requests any affiliation of the inventors or their employer with the Chinese military or with any entity under US export control laws, and whether Commerce is aware of any patents filed in China that replicates the inventions applied for in the United States.

"We believe the U.S.-PRC STA is a vector to give the PRC access to U.S. dual-use research and presents a clear national security risk," the lawmakers said. "The Biden Administration must stop fueling our own destruction and allow the STA to expire."

"Last year, the Select Committee on China requested that the Biden Administration let the STA expire, but it was renewed for the second time allowing the Chinese Communist Party to advance its military objectives and develop new technologies," said Congressman Andy Barr. "This weak approach of deterrence continues to compromise our national security, and it is our duty to protect our nation's sovereignty."

This letter was also signed by Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), John Moolenaar (R-MI), Michelle Steel (R-CA), and Carlos Gimenez (R-FL).

In August 2023, Congressman Barr introduced H.R. 5245 the Science and Technology Agreement Enhanced Congressional Notification Act of 2023. The legislation seeks to establish a new era of rigorous transparency and accountability in United States and People's Republic of China relations by enforcing congressional supervision on any scientific and technological partnership agreements between the two nations. H.R. 5245 passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee 50-0 in March 2024.

Full letter here.

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