The US House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a measure that would have imposed stiff penalties on European firms selling weapons technology to China.
By a vote of 215 to 203, the "East Asia Security Act" failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed for passage after US business groups reportedly expressed concerns that they would be hurt by the measure.
Congressional officials said after the vote that the legislation's author, Republican Henry Hyde, will make a second attempt to pass the bill next week by inserting it in State Department funding legislation, where it has better odds of passage.
The bill welcomed deferral of an EU decision to terminate an arms embargo to China, but expressed concern that sales could proceed indirectly via various loopholes, since some European firms which reportedly have aided Beijing's military build-up are also participants in leading edge US weapons programs.
Among other measures, the legislation called on US President George W. Bush to make an annual report to Congress "identifying every foreign person of the EU that has exported to China any arms or dual use technology for military end use since January 1, 2005."
