ASA Welcomes Barr China Investment Bill

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) today welcomed the reintroduction of Rep. Andy Barr’s (R-KY) Foreign Investment Guardrails to Help Thwart (FIGHT) China Act, a bipartisan bill to help further crackdown on China’s exploitation of America’s financial markets. 

“For years Rep. Barr has been at the forefront of holding China accountable and the FIGHT China Act is another important step in ending the CCP’s exploitation of America’s financial markets,” said ASA President and CEO Chris Iacovella. “This will allow Treasury to use its power to stop CCP military companies from using the ‘passive index loophole’ to access American capital, and we look forward to working with Rep. Barr to get this to the President’s desk.” 

ASA has been the leading trade association calling on policymakers to put an end to China’s exploitation of our financial markets. Last month, ASA sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee outlining policy reforms needed to crackdown on China, which included closing the “passive index loophole” that permits U.S. funds to direct American investor dollars to mainland Chinese companies through emerging markets and other international index funds.

ASA also believes that an entity placed on one government list (i.e. OFAC, DOD, Commerce Entity List, and the State Department’s Human Rights List) should be placed on all lists and automatically trigger removal of that company from our capital markets by the Treasury Department. This would force the immediate removal of all foreign adversary companies from direct listings and from any index or mutual fund. ASA has also called for the centralized coordination of all government lists so the public knows what foreign adversary companies are on them and the Treasury can take more immediate action to protect American investors.

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The American Securities Association (ASA) represents the retail and institutional capital markets interests of regional financial services firms who provide Main Street businesses with access to capital and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. ASA’s mission is to promote trust and confidence among investors, facilitate capital formation, and support efficient and competitively balanced capital markets. This mission advances financial independence, stimulates job creation, and increases prosperity. The ASA has a geographically diverse membership of almost one hundred members that spans the Heartland, Southwest, Southeast, Atlantic, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States.