Hawley urges DOJ probe of Chinese trucking company

FIRST ON FOX – Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., asked the Justice Department Thursday to analyse a Chinese-owned self-driving trucking company, 1 of the largest successful U.S., citing allegations that it had shared proprietary information and different delicate exertion with state-linked entities successful Beijing. 

The letter, sent to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, asks the Justice Department to unfastened a ceremonial probe into the autonomous motortruck institution TuSimple Holdings, a Chinese-owned institution and 1 of the largest self-driving motortruck companies successful the U.S. 

In it, Hawley cites caller reporting from the Wall Street Journal that alleges that TuSimple "systematically shared proprietary data, root code, and autonomous driving technologies" with Chinese state-linked entities— what helium described arsenic "blatant disregard" of the 2022 nationalist information statement with the Committee connected Foreign Investment successful the United States, oregon CFIUS.

"These reports besides revealed communications from TuSimple unit wrong China requesting the shipment of delicate Nvidia AI chips and elaborate records showing ‘deep and longstanding ties’ with Chinese military-affiliated manufacturers," Hawley said. 

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Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wants the Justice Department to analyse TuSimple Holdings, a Chinese-owned self-driving trucking company.  (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

He noted that to date, TuSimple "has not faced superior consequences" for sharing American intelligence spot with China, contempt having continued to stock information with China aft signing a nationalist information statement with the U.S. authorities successful 2022, which was enforced by the Committee connected Foreign Investment successful the U.S.

"If the reports astir TuSimple are accurate, they correspond not conscionable a usurpation of export law, but a breach of nationalist spot and a nonstop menace to American technological leadership," Hawley said. 

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A motion astatine the U.S. Department of Justice is seen connected June 14, 2021 successful Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

"The American radical merit to cognize however and wherefore a supposedly U.S.-based institution was allowed to service arsenic a conduit for the transportation of delicate innovations to the Chinese Communist Party," helium added.

The missive asks Bondi and the Justice Department to instrumentality definite steps to analyse the company's actions, arsenic alleged by the caller reports – including investigating whether TuSimple provided protected accusation to immoderate Chinese-based entities, and what activities were covered by the company's nationalist information statement with CFIUS, struck much than 2 years ago. 

Hawley besides asked Bondi what actions, if any, DOJ has taken to day to guarantee that Bot Auto—a caller Texas-based self-driving conveyance institution staffed by galore erstwhile TuSimple employees, "is not engaging successful akin behavior."

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According to the Wall Street Journal report, TuSimple's actions helped signifier caller Commerce Department regulations, which blocked the merchantability of internet-linked cars and antithetic components with links to China. According to the report, a CFIUS probe determined TuSimple's tech sharing did not interruption the authoritative nationalist information agreement— but the institution was finned for different infractions, and yet paid retired a $6 cardinal settlement. 

The missive comes arsenic Hawley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee connected Crime and Counterterrorism, has emerged arsenic 1 of the Senate's much vocal critics of the Chinese Communist Party, particularly arsenic it relates to the behaviour of definite U.S. companies, and the sharing of definite intelligence property.