Schneider, Wilson Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging US Government to Curb Advanced Machine Tool Exports to Russia

WASHINGTON— Today, Congressmen Brad Schneider (IL-10) and Joe Wilson (SC-02) led a bipartisan letter to Jake Sullivan urging him to prioritize curbing the export of advanced machine tools to Russia.

In addition to Schneider and Wilson, Reps. John Rose, Jason Crow, Don Bacon, Mike Quigley, David Trone, Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, John James, and Chis Smith signed the letter.

The full letter can be found attached and below:

Mr. Jake Sullivan

Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. Sullivan:

We write to you to express concern regarding advanced machine tool exports to Russia, which undermine the effectiveness of the current sanctions imposed by the United States and our allies to counter Russia in its war against Ukraine.

Advanced machine tools play a critical role in Russia's military production, enabling it to produce essential military equipment and weapons systems, thus prolonging its war against Ukraine and further destabilizing the region. In particular, advanced computer numerical control (CNC) machines are crucial for defense industrial production due to the dual-use nature of their metalworking, automotive, aerospace, shipbuilding, and electronics applications.

The United States and European Union have instituted a comprehensive sanctions regime targeting the supply of dual use technology to Russian enterprises crucial to the country’s war efforts and rearmament. Nevertheless, reports suggest a troubling trend in which German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, Swiss, and even US-produced machine tools and key components are still making their way to Russia, often through intermediaries, but sometimes directly.

The Russian CNC market is small. Still, Western, Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese imports, service, spare parts, and expertise are critical to Russian industry, which has no advanced industrial machine capacity of its own. Moreover, China’s CNC technology is not advanced enough to fit Russian needs. Manufacturers could  have significant leverage over the operation of this machinery because they are delicate, high-maintenance machines requiring constant maintenance and repairs, software updates, specialized lubricants, recalibration and more. Much of the servicing happens over the internet and, per the Wassenaar Arrangement, some of the more advanced machines even must have GPS locators.

Given the high impact and low cost of further restrictions on the Russian Federations access to machine tools, maintenance, and expertise, we urge you to prioritize the issue when working with US firms and allied governments. Enhancing export control compliance and enforcement is crucial to undermining the Russian defense industrial base and supporting the Ukrainian people as they push back against Putin’s illegal war of aggression.

We appreciate your dedication to upholding international law and regional security. It is imperative that we work together to ensure that the sanctions we have put in place serve their intended purpose of helping Ukraine emerge victorious.

Thank you for your consideration.

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