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US Senate passes tech & manufacturing bill that takes on China
The US Senate has passed a bipartisan tech and manufacturing bill that will take on China
The legislation, intended to boost the county’s ability to compete with Chinese tech was passed on Tuesday. The Senate voted 68-32 to approve the sweeping package of legislation.
The measure authorises approximately $190 billion for provisions to strengthen US technology and research.
The legislation would also separately approve spending $54 billion to increase manufacturing and research into semiconductor chips and telecommunication equiptment.
Staff fold flags while US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 29, 2019. (Photo by Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
The next stages
The bill must now pass the House of Representatives in order to be sent to the White House for Biden to sign into law.
Currently, it is not clear what legislation in the House will look like or when it might take it up.
The bill has a number of other China-related provisions including prohibiting the social media app TikTok from being downloaded on government devices and would block the purchase of drones manufactured and sold by companies backed by the Chinese government.
It would also allow diplomats and Taiwanese military to display their flag and wear their uniforms while in the United States on official businesses.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, warned of the consequences of not funding research to keep up with China.
“If we do nothing, our days as the dominant superpower may be ending. We don’t mean to let those days end on our watch. We don’t mean to see America become a middling nation in this century,”
President’s Response:
President Joe Biden also praised the bill: “
We are in a competition to win the 21st century, and the starting gun has gone off … We cannot risk falling behind.”
