WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senators Rick Scott and Elizabeth Warren introduced the License Monopoly Prevention Act to increase transparency and strengthen the export licensing process by requiring the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) to conduct a competitive market analysis on license applications to export, reexport, or in-country transfer sensitive, key technologies to an entity on Commerce’s Entity List. BIS’s licensing system is designed to control who can export certain goods, especially those with potential military or dual-use applications. However, in several instances in past years, so-called “monopoly” licenses have been inadvertently issued to companies. These cases granted an exclusive right for a single company to sell a specific product to an entity on Commerce’s Entity List without consideration of the market-distorting impacts of these monopolies.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Export controls should protect American manufacturing and national security, not allow the government to choose winners and losers in the market place and funnel billions to a few big companies. The United States has adversaries like Communist China that are constantly working to undermine our markets, steal our technology, and dominate emerging industries like artificial intelligence. For the United States to be a leading force, we must support American businesses, entrepreneurs, and encourage competition on every level. Our bipartisan bill, the License Monopoly Prevention Act, adds transparency to the export licensing process and calls for a competitive market analysis, so our government can make decisions that protect our national security without crippling companies and our markets.”

Senator Elizabeth Warren said, “Far too often, the Commerce Department issues export control licenses that give a small number of big businesses an unfair advantage over their competitors. This bill would help ensure that export control licensing is even-handed and protects our national security instead of distorting our markets and creating monopolies that hurt consumers.” 

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