HR1716-119

What This Bill Does

The Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act creates a financial-pressure trigger if the President informs Congress under the Taiwan Relations Act that actions by the People's Republic of China create a threat and danger to U.S. interests. Within 90 days of that trigger, and annually for three years, the Treasury Secretary must report to specified congressional leaders and committee chairs on funds held in financial institutions and controlled directly or indirectly by at least 10 senior Chinese Communist Party officials, including at least one Politburo Standing Committee member and one Politburo member. The report must list financial institutions that maintain accounts connected to significant funds or otherwise provide significant financial services to covered persons. Treasury must brief Congress within 30 days on how the funds were acquired and whether illicit or corrupt means were used. The President may exclude a person or financial institution if funds are legal and noncorrupt, if the person provides significant U.S. national-security cooperation on China, or if a financial institution stops maintaining accounts, stops providing services, or cooperates. Waivers are available if they would help end the threat, the threat is gone, or U.S. national security requires it. Unclassified report portions must be public on Treasury websites and social media in English, Chinese, and other appropriate languages, in precompressed downloadable formats. Section 3 then prohibits U.S. financial institutions and their controlled persons from significant transactions with reported persons and benefiting immediate family members, with exceptions for U.S. intelligence, law-enforcement, and national-security activity, importation of goods, presidential waivers, licenses reported to Congress within 60 days, IEEPA penalties, and a sunset after the threat ends or 25 years after Treasury submits the first report.

Who Benefits and How

Taiwan, U.S. deterrence policymakers, congressional financial-services committees, congressional banking committees, Treasury sanctions analysts, China policy analysts, anti-corruption researchers, journalists, U.S. national-security officials, and human-rights advocates benefit from public visibility into senior CCP officials' funds, financial institutions serving them, possible corrupt acquisition of assets, and a transaction ban that can deter or punish coercive PRC action against Taiwan.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Chinese Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee members, other Politburo members, Central Committee members with Taiwan-related duties, immediate family members benefiting from covered funds, financial institutions serving covered CCP officials, U.S. financial institutions, bank compliance officers, Treasury reporting staff, Treasury licensing officials, and presidential waiver staff must face public financial exposure, significant-transaction prohibitions, compliance screening, account termination pressure, congressional reporting, license reporting, and IEEPA penalties.

Key Provisions

• Requires Treasury reports after a Taiwan Relations Act threat notice involving PRC actions against Taiwan.
• Requires reporting on funds controlled by at least 10 senior CCP officials and on financial institutions maintaining accounts or providing significant services.
• Requires congressional briefings on how covered funds were acquired and whether illicit or corrupt means were used.
• Requires public unclassified reports in English, Chinese, and downloadable formats.
• Prohibits U.S. financial institutions from significant transactions with reported persons and benefiting immediate family members.
• Provides exceptions, waivers, license reporting, IEEPA penalties, no import sanctions on goods, and a threat-ended or 25-year sunset.