On Monday, US president Donald Trump signed the $716 billion defense policy bill named after US Senator John McCain. This defense bill is significant for China, with a majority of its regulations in favor of ongoing contracts that Chinese companies Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. And ZTE Corp. has with US government branches.
Yahoo News reports that the bill was signed into law while Trump was at the Fort Drum base. Trump made the stop in New York just after his working vacation in New Jersey, where his golf club was located. The bill's namesake and staunch Trump critic, Senator John McCain, said that he was elated and "humbled" at the same time that the bill was named after him, citing a few provisions that will stifle growing threats to the country.
Trump heralded the bill as a first, saying that it has definitely been a step towards supporting the military, war-fighters, and everyone else involved in the protection of the country in modern times. Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington pointed out that the Obama administration's defense budgets were larger, and that's when adjustments for inflation are finished.
CNBC breaks down the budgets for the defense bill. The allocation stands as such; $616.9 billion is funneled toward the Pentagon, while $69 billion is headed for overseas operations. The Energy Department's nuclear weapons programs get $21.9 billion. A flotilla of 77 Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighters will also be authorized worth $7.6 billion, allocated by the defense bill.
Under the bill, US troops will receive a 2.6 pay raise, the most significant ever in a decade. As for foreign measures, the bill delays a stealth fighter package to Turkey as well as halts a few Chinese investments as it gives more power to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
The bill was supposed to have been used for anti-Chinese measures. Lawmakers were pushing heavier sanctions for companies like ZTE and Huawei and were supposed to punish Huawei for allegedly making illegal shipments to North Korea and Iran. Instead, weaker versions of these sanctions that actually help Huawei and ZTE were included in place of the stronger initial provisions.
Huawei, pressed for a comment on the bill, had said that while it supports the US government's goals, the provisions still included in the bill are "ineffective, misguided, and unconstitutional." They cited it wasn't added for security and that it will only make things difficult for US innovators and companies.
