Congress must treat cheap goods from China as a national security threat

This week, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced he is taking legal action against Chinese online retailer Temu for its deceptive practices and theft of consumer data.

China has a well-documented record of ignoring unethical practices to give its companies a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. In this case, the e-commerce giant, which has alleged ties to Uyghur forced labor camps, is dumping cheap goods into our economy, collecting data from American consumers, and likely selling that data to Beijing.

Temu is growing rapidly, taking advantage of the world’s appetite for affordable goods. Without robust action to protect American businesses from their foreign competitors, companies such as Temu will deepen our commodity dependence on China, inflict irreversible economic damage here at home, and expose the data privacy of millions of people across the country.

Former President Donald Trump sought to address this threat by imposing tariffs on a significant portion of Chinese imports. But our industries continue to grapple with the exploitation of the “de minimis” trade provision, which many Chinese firms take advantage of to avoid paying tariffs.

That’s why Congress should pass my End China's De Minimis Abuse Act, designed to eliminate trade enforcement tariff evasion, enhance transparency and data collection on de minimis entries, and impose penalties on those violating U.S. law.

Chinese companies already enjoy a global competitive edge through inhumane labor practices, blatant disregard for environmental protection, and massive government subsidies. Yet we grant them unequal access to our markets and allow them to outmatch our own homegrown industries. This strips American businesses of the chance to compete in a true free market economy.

Moreover, by fueling China’s hegemonic ambitions, we expose the United States to significant national security threats related to our supply chains. For example, if China stopped exporting critical medicines such as ibuprofen and penicillin to the U.S. today, it would be only a matter of months until our supply ran out. We simply do not have the production capacity at home because of these unfair business practices.

It is no secret that Beijing is strategically maneuvering to overtake the U.S. as the world’s superpower. It has cultivated close relationships with Russia, Iran, and North Korea, is preparing to invade Taiwan, and is challenging the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency. The Chinese Communist Party will stop at nothing to gain an advantage over the U.S.

Facing soaring public debt and an impending population collapse , China finds itself with a precarious future and is aggressively pursuing command of global supply chains to protect its interests. In the last 20 years, the nation’s food self-sufficiency ratio has plummeted nearly 30%. By prolonging its ability to exploit the American consumer, we are abetting the CCP’s sinister agenda and sustaining its goal of domination.

While many in Washington have adopted hawkish positions on China, some are afraid to address the economic cold war we find ourselves in. But China’s economic maneuvering is an inescapable reality — one that must be confronted head-on.

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Updating our de minimis laws won’t solve every challenge we face, but it’s an overdue step in the right direction. We have historically championed a free market economy to spur competition and deliver affordable goods for consumers. China’s economic predation destroys that conviction.

We must fight back so that American businesses have a level playing field to compete on. It is both a matter of economic and national security.

Greg Murphy, MD, is a U.S. representative for North Carolina and is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and Subcommittee on Trade.