[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2960 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2960
To develop economic tools to deter aggression by the People's Republic
of China against Taiwan.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
October 1, 2025
Mr. Risch introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To develop economic tools to deter aggression by the People's Republic
of China against Taiwan.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Deter PRC Aggression Against Taiwan
Act''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States must be prepared
to take immediate action to impose sanctions with respect to any
military or non-military entities owned, controlled, or acting at the
direction of the Government of the PRC or the Chinese Communist Party
that are supporting actions by the Government of the PRC or by the
Chinese Communist Party--
(1) to overthrow or dismantle the governing institutions in
Taiwan;
(2) to occupy any territory controlled or administered by
Taiwan;
(3) to violate the territorial integrity of Taiwan; or
(4) to take significant action against Taiwan, including--
(A) conducting a naval blockade of Taiwan;
(B) seizing any outlying island of Taiwan; or
(C) perpetrating a significant physical or cyber
attack on Taiwan that erodes the ability of the
governing institutions in Taiwan to operate or provide
essential services to the citizens of Taiwan.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate;
(B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs of the Senate;
(C) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation of the Senate;
(D) the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
(E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives;
(F) the Committee on Financial Services of the
House of Representatives;
(G) the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the
House of Representatives; and
(H) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of
Representatives.
(2) PRC.--The term ``PRC'' means the People's Republic of
China.
(3) PRC sanctions task force; task force.--The terms ``PRC
Sanctions Task Force'' and ``Task Force'' mean the task force
established pursuant to section 4.
SEC. 4. PRC SANCTIONS TASK FORCE.
(a) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Coordinator for Sanctions of the Department
of State and the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control of
the Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the Director of
National Intelligence and the heads of other Federal agencies, as
appropriate, shall establish an interagency task force to identify
military and non-military entities that could be subject to sanctions
or other economic actions imposed by the United States immediately
following any action taken by the PRC that demonstrates an attempt to
achieve, or has the significant effect of achieving, the physical or
political control of Taiwan, including by taking any of the actions
described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of section 2.
(b) Strategy.--Not later than 180 days after the establishment of
the PRC Sanctions Task Force, the Task Force shall provide a briefing
to the appropriate congressional committees for identifying proposed
targets for sanctions or other economic actions referred to in
subsection (a), which shall--
(1) assess how existing sanctions programs could be used to
impose sanctions with respect to entities identified by the
Task Force;
(2) develop or propose, as appropriate, new sanctions
authorities that might be required to impose sanctions with
respect to such entities;
(3) analyze the potential economic consequences to the
United States, and to allies and partners of the United States,
of imposing various types of such sanctions with respect to
such entities;
(4) assess measures that could be taken to mitigate the
consequences referred to in paragraph (3), including through
the use of licenses, exemptions, carve-outs, and other
approaches;
(5) include coordination with allies and partners of the
United States--
(A) to leverage sanctions and other economic tools
including actions targeting the PRC's financial and
industrial sectors to deter or respond to aggression
against Taiwan;
(B) to identify and resolve potential impediments
to coordinating sanctions-related efforts or other
economic actions with respect to responding to or
deterring aggression against Taiwan;
(C) to identify industries, sectors, or goods and
services where the United States and allies and
partners of the United States can take coordinated
action through sanctions or other economic tools that
will have a significant negative impact on the economy
of the PRC; and
(D) to coordinate actions with partners and allies
to provide economic support to Taiwan and other
countries being threatened by the PRC, including
measures to counter economic coercion by the PRC;
(6) assess the resource gaps and needs at the Department of
State, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of
Commerce, the United States Trade Representative, and other
Federal agencies, as appropriate, to most effectively use
sanctions and other economic tools to respond to the threats
posed by the PRC;
(7) recommend how best to target sanctions and other
economic tools against individuals, entities, and economic
sectors in the PRC, which shall take into account--
(A) the role of such targets in supporting policies
and activities of the Government of the PRC, or of the
Chinese Communist Party, that pose a threat to the
national security or foreign policy interests of the
United States;
(B) the negative economic implications of such
sanctions and tools for the Government of the PRC,
including its ability to achieve its objectives with
respect to Taiwan; and
(C) the potential impact of such sanctions and
tools on the stability of the global financial system,
including with respect to--
(i) state-owned enterprises;
(ii) officials of the Government of the PRC
and of the Chinese Communist Party;
(iii) financial institutions associated
with the Government of the PRC; and
(iv) companies in the PRC that are not
formally designated by the Government of the
PRC as state-owned enterprises; and
(8) identify any foreign military or non-military entities
that would likely be used to achieve the outcomes specified in
section 2, including entities in the shipping, logistics,
energy (including oil and gas), maritime, aviation, ground
transportation, and technology sectors.
SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT.
Not later than 180 days after the briefing required under section
4(b), and annually thereafter, the PRC Sanctions Task Force shall
submit a classified report to the appropriate congressional committees
that includes information regarding--
(1) any entities identified pursuant to section 4(b)(8);
(2) any new authorities required to impose sanctions with
respect to such entities;
(3) potential economic impacts on the PRC, the United
States, and allies and partners of the United States resulting
from the imposition of sanctions with respect to such entities;
(4) mitigation measures that could be employed to limit any
deleterious economic impacts on the United States and allies
and partners of the United States of such sanctions;
(5) the status of coordination with allies and partners of
the United States regarding sanctions and other economic tools
identified under this Act;
(6) resource gaps and recommendations to enable the
Department of State and the Department of the Treasury to use
sanctions to more effectively respond to the malign activities
of the Government of the PRC; and
(7) any additional resources that may be necessary to carry
out the strategies and recommendations included in the report
submitted pursuant to section 4(b).
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