What This Bill Does
This bill gives the President power to impose sanctions on Chinese people and companies that send weapons, military equipment, or financial support to Russia. It also allows sanctions against those who help Russia avoid existing American or international sanctions.
##
Who It Affects
Chinese citizens and companies that send military support to Russia, Russian companies receiving such support, U.S. financial institutions, the Export-Import Bank, international financial institutions, and any U.S. person dealing with sanctioned Chinese entities.
##
Key Provisions
- The President can impose sanctions on Chinese people or companies if they knowingly export weapons, military technology, or financial support to Russia that helps Russia conduct military operations in Ukraine (Sec. 4(a)(1)(A))
- The President can impose sanctions on Chinese people or companies that help Russia evade or avoid U.S. or international sanctions (Sec. 4(a)(1)(B))
- Sanctions can include freezing property and money in the United States, denying visas, prohibiting U.S. loans, blocking investment, and preventing government contracts (Sec. 4(b))
- The President can waive sanctions if doing so serves the national interest of the United States (Sec. 4(d))
- U.S. intelligence activities and law enforcement activities are exempt from these sanctions rules (Sec. 4(c))
##
What Changes
If this bill becomes law, the President gains new authority to target Chinese entities supporting Russia's military. U.S. banks cannot loan money to sanctioned Chinese companies. The U.S. government cannot buy goods or services from them. Sanctioned individuals cannot enter the United States and will have their visas cancelled.
##
Important Definitions
- "PRC person" means any Chinese citizen, Chinese company, the Chinese government, the Chinese Communist Party, or Chinese state-owned enterprises (Sec. 4(f)(3))
- "Financial, material, or technological support" is defined in federal regulations under title 31, Code of Federal Regulations, section 542.304 (Sec. 4(f)(2))
- "United States person" means U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and U.S. companies or their foreign branches (Sec. 4(f)(6))
##
Effective Date
The bill takes effect on the date it becomes law and expires on whichever comes first: the date the President determines the Ukraine conflict has ended or 2 years after the bill becomes law (Sec. 5)
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 1368
To impose sanctions with respect to the transfer of arms and related materiel
by the People’s Republic of China to the Russian Federation or the
evasion or circumvention of United States sanctions or multilateral sanc-
tions by the People’s Republic of China with respect to the Russian
Federation, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 3, 2023
Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Ms. TITUS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. PHILLIPS, Ms. GAR-
CIA of Texas, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. CROW, Ms. MCCOL-
LUM, Mr. CASE, Mr. SWALWELL, Ms. WILD, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr.
KILDEE, and Ms. TOKUDA) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Com-
mittees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Ways and Means, and Over-
sight and Accountability, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall with-
in the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To impose sanctions with respect to the transfer of arms
and related materiel by the People’s Republic of China
to the Russian Federation or the evasion or circumven-
tion of United States sanctions or multilateral sanctions
by the People’s Republic of China with respect to the
Russian Federation, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
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•HR 1368 IH
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
1
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Deter PRC Support
2
to the Russian War Effort Act’’.
3
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
4
Congress finds the following:
5
(1) The People’s Republic of China (in this sec-
6
tion referred to as the ‘‘PRC’’) and the Russian
7
Federation have, in recent years, forged a closer re-
8
lationship, based largely on their shared interest in
9
challenging the rules-based international order, in an
10
attempt to reshape that order into one that is more
11
welcoming to their authoritarian systems of govern-
12
ment.
13
(2) The rhetoric of the PRC’s leaders, including
14
Xi Jinping, who called for the unification ‘‘by force’’
15
of Taiwan with the People’s Republic of China, mir-
16
rors the Russian Federation’s justification for invad-
17
ing Ukraine, poses a danger to international peace
18
and security and the agreed to status quo on Taiwan
19
in the Three Communiques exchanged between Bei-
20
jing and Washington, and should be condemned by
21
the international community.
22
(3) On February 24, 2022, Russia launched an
23
unprovoked and unjustified full-scale invasion of
24
Ukraine, and in addition, the United Nation has re-
25
ported more than 7,800,000 Ukrainian refugees
26
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•HR 1368 IH
forced to flee across Europe and more than
1
5,000,000 internally displaced in Ukraine since Rus-
2
sia’s invasion began.
3
(4) The PRC’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson
4
refused to categorize Russia’s attacks as an ‘‘inva-
5
sion’’ or ‘‘war’’ and referred repeatedly to the Rus-
6
sian Federation’s statements on Ukraine, including
7
reiterating criticisms of the North Atlantic Treaty
8
Organization (NATO) and blaming the United
9
States for starting the conflict.
10
(5)
Since
Russia’s
full-scale
invasion
of
11
Ukraine, the Biden Administration has imposed sev-
12
eral tranches of sanctions on Putin’s Russia.
13
(6) On February 22, 2022, President Biden
14
issued Executive Order 14065, which blocks prop-
15
erty of certain persons and prohibits certain trans-
16
actions with respect to continued Russian efforts to
17
undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of
18
Ukraine, and expands the scope of the national
19
emergency declared in Executive Order 13660 of
20
March 6, 2014, Executive Order 13661 of March
21
16, 2014, and Executive Order 13662 of March 20,
22
2014, and takes additional steps with respect to Ex-
23
ecutive Order 13685 of December 19, 2014, and Ex-
24
ecutive Order 13849 of September 20, 2018, finding
25
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•HR 1368 IH
that the Russian Federation’s purported recognition
1
of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) or
2
Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) regions of
3
Ukraine contradicts Russia’s commitments under
4
the Minsk agreements and further threatens the
5
peace, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity
6
of Ukraine, and thereby constitutes an unusual and
7
extraordinary threat to the national security and for-
8
eign policy of the United States.
9
(7) On March 8, 2022, President Biden issued
10
Executive Order 14066, which prohibits certain im-
11
ports and new investments with respect to continued
12
Russian Federation efforts to undermine the sov-
13
ereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and ex-
14
pands the scope of the national emergency declared
15
in Executive Order 14024 of April 15, 2021, and
16
takes additional steps with respect to Executive
17
Order 14039 of August 20, 2021, finding that the
18
Russian
Federation’s
unjustified,
unprovoked,
19
unyielding, and unconscionable war against Ukraine,
20
including its recent further invasion in violation of
21
international law, including the United Nations
22
Charter, further threatens the peace, stability, sov-
23
ereignty, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and
24
thereby constitutes an unusual and extraordinary
25
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5
•HR 1368 IH
threat to the national security and foreign policy of
1
the United States.
2
(8) On March 11, 2022, President Biden issued
3
Executive Order 14068, which further prohibits cer-
4
tain imports and new investments with respect to
5
continued Russian Federation efforts to undermine
6
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine,
7
and takes additional steps with respect to the na-
8
tional emergency declared in Executive Order 14024
9
of April 15, 2021, and Executive Order 14039 of
10
August 20, 2021, and expanded by Executive Order
11
14066 of March 8, 2022.
12
(9) On April 6, 2022, President Biden issued
13
Executive Order 14071, prohibiting new investment
14
and certain services to the Russian Federation in re-
15
sponse to continued Russian Federation aggression,
16
and takes additional steps with respect to the na-
17
tional emergency declared in Executive Order 14024
18
of April 15, 2021, expanded by Executive Order
19
14066 of March 8, 2022, and relied on for addi-
20
tional steps taken in Executive Order 14039 of Au-
21
gust 20, 2021, and Executive Order 14068 of March
22
11, 2022.
23
(10) In March 2022, as the Biden Administra-
24
tion continued to increase pressure on Putin’s re-
25
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•HR 1368 IH
gime through rollouts of the aforementioned sanc-
1
tions, the head of the PRC’s banking and insurance
2
regulator said the PRC will not participate in the
3
sanctions regime Western nations imposed on Russia
4
and ‘‘will continue to maintain normal economic,
5
trade and financial exchanges’’ with Russia despite
6
its aggression against Ukraine.
7
(11) Indeed, that same month, according to
8
PRC customs data, Russia bought 9,950 metric tons
9
of alumina from the PRC, which is nearly 10 times
10
more than what it purchased in the same period a
11
year earlier. The PRC’s first-quarter exports of alu-
12
mina to Russia are nearly six times the volume of
13
all of 2021, suggesting the PRC may find new ways
14
of providing support to Russia.
15
(12) On June 28, 2022, the U.S. Department
16
of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security,
17
added five Chinese companies to the Entity List, in
18
response to their continued support to Russia’s mili-
19
tary efforts since the imposition of export controls in
20
response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
21
(13) In December 2022, the PRC’s foreign
22
minister stated his country would ‘‘deepen strategic
23
mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation’’
24
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•HR 1368 IH
with Russia, and trade between the countries has
1
continued to grow.
2
(14) As of February 2023, reports based on
3
customs records indicate Chinese state-owned and
4
private companies have exported parts and equip-
5
ment to sanctioned Russian entities that could be fa-
6
cilitating Putin’s war. This includes shipments of
7
helicopter equipment, jamming technology, drones,
8
and jet-fighter parts to sanctioned Russian govern-
9
ment-owned defense firms.
10
(15) On February 18, 2023, the Secretary of
11
State publicly stated that Chinese companies were
12
already providing non-lethal support to Russia’s war
13
effort and the PRC was considering providing lethal
14
support, including weapons and ammunition.
15
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
16
It is the sense of Congress that—
17
(1) Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine and
18
the war crimes and human rights violations com-
19
mitted by the Kremlin, Russia’s military, and Rus-
20
sia’s intelligence and security services against the
21
people of Ukraine should be strongly condemned;
22
(2) any country or entity that provides material
23
support for Russia’s invasion is furthering Russia’s
24
unlawful belligerence and committing of war crimes;
25
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•HR 1368 IH
(3) Chinese Government officials and individ-
1
uals and entities associated with People’s Republic
2
of China that assist the Russian Federation, includ-
3
ing Russian Government officials or individuals or
4
entities associated with the Russian Federation, by
5
providing material support or in evading sanctions
6
imposed following the Russian Federation’s invasion
7
of Ukraine are, in so doing, supporting the Russian
8
Federation’s unprovoked attack on Ukraine and the
9
Ukrainian people, including alleged war crimes com-
10
mitted by Russian Armed Forces against civilians;
11
(4) the President should continue to seek unity
12
with European and other key partners and to uphold
13
sanctions that continue to impose costs on Putin’s
14
regime and deplete the Russian Federation’s war
15
chest;
16
(5) the President should impose sanctions with
17
respect to those sectors and individuals and entities
18
of the Russian Federation, including Russian Gov-
19
ernment officials, that are evading sanctions im-
20
posed by the United States and allied nations fol-
21
lowing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine; and
22
(6) the President should encourage other Euro-
23
pean countries and key partners to enact legislation
24
that is similar to the provisions of this Act.
25
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•HR 1368 IH
SEC. 4. SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE TRANSFER OF
1
ARMS AND RELATED MATERIEL BY CHINA TO
2
RUSSIA.
3
(a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.—
4
(1) IN GENERAL.—The President is authorized
5
to impose on a PRC person one or more of the sanc-
6
tions described in subsection (b) if the President de-
7
termines that such person has, on or after the date
8
of the enactment of this Act, knowingly—
9
(A) exported, transferred, or otherwise pro-
10
vided to Russia financial, material, or techno-
11
logical support that contributes materially to
12
the ability of the Government of Russia to un-
13
dertake military action in Ukraine, such as—
14
(i) acquiring chemical, biological, or
15
nuclear weapons or related technologies;
16
(ii) acquiring ballistic or cruise missile
17
capabilities;
18
(iii) acquiring advanced conventional
19
weapons;
20
(iv) acquiring significant defense arti-
21
cles, defense services, or defense informa-
22
tion (as such terms are defined under the
23
Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2751
24
et seq.)); or
25
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•HR 1368 IH
(v) acquiring items designated by the
1
President for purposes of the United
2
States
Munitions
List
under
section
3
38(a)(1) of the Arms Export Control Act
4
(22 U.S.C. 2778(a)(1)); or
5
(B) facilitated or assisted in the evasion or
6
circumvention of United States sanctions or
7
multilateral sanctions with respect to the Rus-
8
sia.
9
(2) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER PRC PERSONS.—
10
The sanctions described in subsection (b) may also
11
be imposed on any PRC person that—
12
(A) is a successor entity to a PRC person
13
described in paragraph (1); or
14
(B) is owned or controlled by, or has acted
15
for or on behalf of, a PRC person described in
16
paragraph
(1)
and
has
engaged
in
a
17
sanctionable activity described in such para-
18
graph.
19
(b) SANCTIONS
DESCRIBED.—The sanctions de-
20
scribed in this subsection are the following:
21
(1) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.—The President
22
shall exercise all powers granted by the International
23
Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701
24
et seq.) (except that the requirements of section 202
25
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•HR 1368 IH
of such Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall not apply) to the
1
extent necessary to block and prohibit all trans-
2
actions in all property and interests in property of
3
the person if such property and interests in property
4
are in the United States, come within the United
5
States, or are or come within the possession or con-
6
trol of a United States person.
7
(2) INADMISSIBILITY
OF
CERTAIN
INDIVID-
8
UALS.—
9
(A) INELIGIBILITY FOR VISAS AND ADMIS-
10
SION TO THE UNITED STATES.—An individual
11
determined by the President to be a person de-
12
scribed in subsection (a) is—
13
(i) inadmissible to the United States;
14
(ii) ineligible to receive a visa or other
15
documentation to enter the United States;
16
and
17
(iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted
18
or paroled into the United States or to re-
19
ceive any other benefit under the Immigra-
20
tion and Nat
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]