27th Parliamentary-Intelligence Security Forum – Economic Security/Trade

Ms. Diana Furchtgott-Roth opened by introducing herself as the director of the Center on Energy, Climate, and Environment at the Heritage Foundation and highlighted her experience in the Trump, Bush, and Reagan administrations. She discussed the Foundation’s Chinese Handcuffs Project, which examines how U.S. energy policies have made the country dependent on Chinese manufacturing, particularly in renewables, electric vehicles, and batteries. She noted that China dominates global production in these sectors, with seven of the largest ten wind and solar manufacturers and 80% of the world’s batteries, giving China economic leverage while hollowing out industries in Europe and weakening the U.S.

Furchtgott-Roth criticized current U.S. regulations under the Biden administration, such as the mandate for 70% of new vehicle sales to be electric by 2032 and the closure of power plants that fail to sequester 95% of carbon emissions by 2040, calling them incoherent and economically harmful. She highlighted unintended consequences, including higher electricity costs, increased particulate emissions from EV tire wear, and risks of Chinese control or spying through imported electric vehicles.

She proposed four major recommendations to counter these vulnerabilities: rolling back mandates for renewables, EVs, and power plants; increasing domestic oil and natural gas production to lower electricity costs and boost manufacturing; banning Chinese EVs, including those routed through Mexico, due to cybersecurity and espionage risks; and pursuing federal and state reforms to streamline permitting for critical minerals, noting that current regulations hinder U.S. development while China and Russia continue exploiting these resources. She concluded by emphasizing the need for these policy changes to strengthen U.S. energy independence and economic security.