US lawmakers plan new bills plan that could derail Trump's China trade talks

Bipartisan senators in Washington are planning a full-blown legislative ambush that could derail Trump’s China trade negotiations before the deal even makes it out of Stockholm.

According to Reuters, three bills will be introduced this week by members of both parties targeting China’s human rights abuses, pressure on Taiwan, and overseas crackdowns on activists, cutting across Trump’s focus on locking down a trade truce.

The legislation comes just two weeks before Trump’s August 12 deadline, when top U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to meet in Sweden to try to extend a fragile economic ceasefire.

But even before talks begin, Democrat Jeff Merkley of Oregon and Republicans John Cornyn, John Curtis, and Dan Sullivan are setting fire to the idea that trade can be pursued while ignoring other flashpoints.

Merkley, Cornyn, Curtis, and Sullivan launch legislative assault

The first bill, led by Merkley and co-sponsored by Cornyn from Texas, would deny entry into the United States to any Chinese official, current or former, found to have participated in the forced repatriation of Uyghurs.

These are ethnic Muslims living in the Xinjiang region, where human rights groups say about 10 million people have been subject to surveillance, detentions, and worse. Beijing denies the allegations.

The second bill, supported by Curtis of Utah, is aimed at protecting Taiwan, a self-governed island that China claims as its own. The bill promises U.S. support to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean that maintain diplomatic relations with Taipei and proposes closer coordination with Taiwan’s government.

Military pressure from Beijing has been escalating, with no signs of slowing down. The third proposal, driven by Sullivan of Alaska, targets what lawmakers are calling transnational repression.

This includes any attempt by foreign governments to reach into the United States or other nations to threaten dissidents, activists, or journalists. The bill doesn’t name China outright, but lawmakers made it clear who the intended target is.

Merkley, who is fronting all three bills, said the message is about staying firm regardless of which president is in office. “No matter who is in the White House, America’s values of freedom and human rights must remain at the heart of a clear and principled vision that guides our leadership on the global stage,” Merkley said in a statement.

Cornyn and Curtis, both Republicans, aren’t backing off either, despite Trump being the head of their party. It’s a rare moment of cross-party agreement, and this time it’s pointed squarely at Beijing, not each other.

While many in Congress have supported Trump’s plan to rebalance the U.S.-China trade relationship, they’re not comfortable with what they see as the administration brushing aside long-standing national security concerns.

Trump’s trade push faces heat after Nvidia deal and security fears

Trump has insisted that national security hasn’t been dropped in favor of trade goals, even as he tries to preserve his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping. But not everyone is buying it.

Bonnie Glaser, a China policy analyst at the German Marshall Fund, said:

“It does appear that President Trump is keen to negotiate some kind of deal with China, and gaps are opening between his approach to China and the approaches of some members of his team, as well as with Congress, which overall has been quite hawkish on China.”

There’s also backlash over what’s happening on the tech front. Democrats and Trump’s own party members raised concerns earlier this month after Nvidia announced it would restart sales of its H20 AI chips to China.

This came just days after the company’s CEO met with Trump, and it completely reversed an earlier ban from April. That restriction was designed to keep the most powerful U.S. artificial intelligence chips out of Chinese hands. Now, those safeguards are gone.

Critics say this move undermines efforts to prevent China from advancing its military and surveillance capabilities using U.S. tech. The timing also raises eyebrows: with Trump focused on extending the trade truce, allowing AI sales to resume looks like a signal that economics is taking the front seat, even if it means compromising U.S. security.

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