Key Takeaways:
- A bipartisan bill has been introduced by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Rick Scott to reform the export licensing process.
- The legislation directs the Commerce Department to ensure a level playing field and avoid creating monopolies for U.S. companies.
- The move follows controversy over licenses granted to Intel and Qualcomm to sell chips to China’s Huawei, while rivals were denied similar approvals.
- If passed, the bill would require a “competitive market review” before granting licenses that could result in a single supplier.
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan pair of U.S. senators has introduced new legislation aimed at preventing the Commerce Department from creating unfair monopolies when issuing export licenses to American companies. The bill, drafted by Democrat Elizabeth Warren and Republican Rick Scott, addresses concerns that the current system can favor some U.S. firms over others, particularly in sales to heavily sanctioned companies like China’s Huawei.
An Unfair Playing Field
The issue gained prominence after the Commerce Department granted licenses to tech giants Intel and Qualcomm, allowing them to sell certain semiconductor chips to Huawei. However, similar requests from their competitors, including AMD and MediaTek, were not approved.
This created a situation where a select few U.S. companies had exclusive access to a major market, leaving rivals at a significant disadvantage. While the Biden administration later revoked Intel and Qualcomm’s licenses last year, the episode highlighted a potential flaw in the export control process. Lawmakers are now concerned that the Commerce Department’s decisions could inadvertently distort the market and undermine fair competition among American businesses.
How the New Bill Aims for Fairness
The proposed legislation, if passed, would fundamentally change how these sensitive licenses are evaluated. It would require the Commerce Department to conduct a “competitive market review” whenever a license request is under consideration.
This review would assess whether approving the request would make the exporter the sole authorized supplier of that particular item to the foreign buyer. According to the bill’s text, such a “monopoly license” would only be approved if no similar applications from competing firms have been submitted for the same customer.
Preventing Market Distortion and Security Risks
The bill’s sponsors argue that the current approach risks more than just market fairness. “Monopoly licenses have the potential to create serious distortion in the market, exacerbate economic and security vulnerabilities, and undermine fairness in the export licensing regime,” the bill’s text states.
By establishing a clear and equitable process, the legislation seeks to ensure that national security-based export controls do not inadvertently pick winners and losers in the U.S. tech industry. The goal is to create a transparent system where all American companies are treated equally when vying for access to overseas customers.
The Commerce Department has not yet commented on the proposed legislation.
Image Referance: https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-senators-unveil-bill-prevent-export-monopolies-after-huawei-showdown-2025-11-19/