[co-author: Nicole Hager]
On January 26, 2021, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee (the Committee) held a hearing on the nomination of Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, to be the Secretary of Commerce). Wiley’s Telecom, Media, and Technology Practice, with the National Security practice, are following developments at the Department of Commerce and identify herein a few notable comments and exchanges that may be relevant to several open tech issues before Commerce.
Nominee Raimondo Indicated She Would Be Tough on China but Avoided Policy Commitments. The tech sector and many parts of the U.S. economy (not to mention governments and businesses overseas) are eager to see what the Biden Administration will do with several China-related proceedings. Gov. Raimondo emphasized that national security has to come first and that the Biden Administration is pursuing a whole-of-government approach. With respect to 5G, she said the United States can’t let China or a