Jones Applauds Trump for Blocking China’s Purchase of U.S. Company | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    GREENVILLE, NC     Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) is thanking President Donald Trump for blocking the sale of Lattice Semiconductor Corporation to, among others, China Venture Capital Fund Corporation Limited (CVCF). Lattice Semiconductor is an American company that makes programmable logic chips. These chips are critical to American military applications, and are also used in industrial settings. CVCF is a Chinese corporation owned by Chinese state-owned entities that manages industrial investments and venture capital. In blocking the acquisition, President Trump found that the proposed deal posed a national security risk related to "the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer, the Chinese government's role in supporting this transaction, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the United States Government, and the use of Lattice products by the United States Government."

    "I would like to thank the president and his administration for standing up for our national security," said Congressman Jones. "The American people do not want to see important domestic capabilities, particularly those that are vital to our military, sold into the hands of countries like China."

    After the proposed acquisition was first announced in November, 2016, Congressman Jones and 21 of his House colleagues urged the Obama administration to initiate a formal federal review of the transaction, and to consider blocking it due to the risks it posed to national security. That review, conducted under the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) process outlined in section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, culminated in the President Trump's September 13th announcement blocking the deal. It is only the fourth time in the past 27 years that a U.S. president has blocked the acquisition of a U.S. firm by a foreign entity.

    For additional information, please contact Allison Tucker in Congressman Jones' office at (202) 225-3415 or allison.tucker@mail.house.gov.