US business lobbies called on the White House this week for help to overturn new Chinese cybersecurity regulations they said would hurt market opportunities abroad and jobs in the US.
In a letter that was sent to US officials including US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Trade Representative Michael Froman on Wednesday, the US Chamber of Commerce and 16 other US business lobbies said the new rules raised questions about China’s international trade commitments.
“[We] request your immediate action to work with Chinese officials to reverse an alarming number of troubling, new Chinese government policies impacting the information and communications technology sector,” the letter said.
Cybersecurity has been a significant irritant in US-China ties, with both sides accusing the other of abuses.
Groups representing the US tech industry wrote to the Chinese administration about the same policies on Wednesday last week.
New cybersecurity regulations would force vendors of technology to Chinese banks to hand over secret source codes and adopt Chinese encryption algorithms.
The policies would have a “significant negative impact” on US technology companies’ market opportunities in China and ultimately crimp investment in research and development in the US, hurting US jobs, the groups said.
US manufacturers would also suffer as the policies would restrict cross-border data flows and create another market barrier for foreign financial services and telecommunications companies the letter said, which was also signed by the US National Association of Manufacturers.
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