October 15, 2020 Press Releases

FACT CHECK: Messner Worked for Chinese Government, Against American Business


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2020
Contact: Ally Livingston, alivingston@jeanneshaheen.org

The AP reported that Corky Messner worked on behalf of the communist Chinese government to shake down an American manufacturer.

  • Messner’s firm “represented China Export and Credit Insurance Corp,” which is run by the Chinese Government, in a shakedown of The Carlstar Group, a Tennessee-based maker of specialty tires, and several of its partner companies.

  • In 2017, the year after Messner Reeves represented an arm of the Chinese government designed to advance Chinese trade interests, New Hampshire had 24,000 fewer jobs because of the trade deficit with China.

  • More than 20 Granite State businesses and more than 1,300 workers have applied for Trade Adjustment Assistance for their workers after losing out to imports from China or shifts of production to China.

Senator Shaheen has led efforts in the Senate to hold our foreign adversaries accountable, including China.

  • FACT: Shaheen’s bipartisan Fentanyl Sanctions Act to crack down on fentanyl coming in from China was added to the annual defense bill in 2019.

  • FACT: Shaheen is leading legislation that would rebuild the U.S. economy and provide support for workers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and manufacturers to out-compete China and combat its influence campaigns, including the “Confucius Institutes.”

  • FACT: She is pushing a bill to stop foreign governments like China from stealing research and innovation from colleges and universities, and increasing transparency about foreign influence.

P.S. The cornerstone of Messner’s economic plan on China, is a carbon copy of bipartisan legislation that Shaheen has introduced with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) to ensure that U.S. government employee’s assets are not invested in China.

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