In recent days, we at CFIF have marked the ignominious one-year anniversary of the Biden Administration…
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Drug Price Controls: On 9/13, Let's End the Indefensible 9-13 Small Molecule/Large Molecule Protection Disparity

In recent days, we at CFIF have marked the ignominious one-year anniversary of the Biden Administration's misnamed "Inflation Reduction Act" (IRA) by noting its particularly negative impact on pharmaceutical innovation and, in turn, the nation's health and wellbeing.

As acknowledged by the United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security  as well as groups like the American Cancer Society, Americans are already confronting alarming and unprecedented drug shortages in the wake of the IRA.

To mark today's date of September 13 - or 9/13 - it's appropriate to note a different but significant 9-13:  That refers to the indefensible distinction that the IRA makes between what are known as "small-molecule" and "large-molecule" drugs.

Specifically, the IRA imposes destructive price controls…[more]

September 13, 2023 • 03:24 PM

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Home Press Room CFIF Urges Broader Examination of U.S. Investments in Chinese Companies Posing National Security Risk
CFIF Urges Broader Examination of U.S. Investments in Chinese Companies Posing National Security Risk Print
Wednesday, August 16 2023

Dear Members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party:  

On behalf of over 300,000 supporters and activists across the nation, the Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) thanks you for your focus on threats our nation faces from the Chinese Communist Party.  In particular, we applaud your recent efforts aimed at uncovering the unsettling trend of American investment dollars going to Chinese military contractors and other companies that have been identified as posing national security risks and acting against the interests of the United States.  

The Select Committee’s efforts to carefully scrutinize how hundreds of billions of American dollars is being invested in those Chinese companies is both warranted and welcome, and your reported inquiries of BlackRock and MSCI offer a good initial step.

While we acknowledge that you remain in the beginning stages of your examination, recent media reports suggest that a full and comprehensive examination of this issue likely warrants a much broader review than the couple of firms subject to the Select Committee’s initial inquiry. 

Specifically, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, “more than 2,000 U.S. mutual and exchange-traded funds  particularly those tracking indexes  have $294 billion invested across Chinese stocks and bonds.”  While not all of that money is invested in Chinese companies triggering greatest concern to the Select Committee, Ignites, a financial services trade media outlet affiliated with the Financial Times, reports, “More than 200 mutual funds and ETFs are invested in Chinese companies flagged as ‘concerning’ last week by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, data shows.”

Ignites also highlighted the companies with the most money invested in flagged Chinese companies:  

“Altogether, 57 asset managers had at least one mutual fund or ETF invested in the companies listed by the select committee as of June 30, according to Morningstar Direct data.  The group includes major firms such as Dimensional Fund Advisors, Fidelity, State Street and Vanguard.”  

Similarly, following the reports of your initial letters to BlackRock and MSCI, Bloomberg heard from experts who stressed the need for greater oversight of the entire financial services industry:  

“BlackRock is one of many asset managers that provide exposure to emerging markets and the Chinese market specifically...  If this is something for Congress to be concerned about, it is not coming from one index provider and one asset manager  it is a broader industrywide event.” Todd Rosenbluth, Head of Research at ETF data and analytics company VettaFi 

Given that potential exposure across so many firms and funds, we hope to see additional actions by the Select Committee in coming weeks to broaden its efforts to examine this grave issue.  

Thank you very much for your attention to this important matter, and please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.  

Sincerely,
/s/
Timothy Lee
Senior Vice President of Legal and Public Affairs

cc: Members of the House Financial Services Committee

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