The Biden administration is preparing to regulate American investments abroad much more firmly, with a country in the line of sight: China.
More investment if there is a risk to US national security
The world’s two largest economies have been engaged in a trade war for several years now, and it continues to escalate. In this context, the United States is preparing a new program which could prohibit US investment in certain sectors in Chinareports the Wall Street Journal.
These measures will probably concern private equity and venture capital investmentsIn areas considered key for the future and relevant to the country’s national security, namely semiconductors, artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The aim is to prevent US investors from providing funds and skills to Chinese companies that could then benefit Beijing.
The program aims to ” prevent U.S. capital and expertise from being exploited in a way that threatens its national securitywhile not placing an undue burden on U.S. investors and businesses “, Indicates a report from the Treasury Department, responsible for drawing the outlines of these new rules with the Commerce Department. The program should be finalized in a “ near future ».
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo explains that the measures must take into account the risks to national security, and above all not create an unfair economic advantagee. « One of the most important things we can do, in my view, is to make sure that we draw clear lines between what is competitive and what is national security. These lines are sometimes difficult to define, but it is important for us to define them “, did he declare.
A discussion with the allies in May
The U.S. government has long reviewed foreign investment in the United States, prohibiting it in certain cases when it involves sensitive areas, through the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which deals with including discussions with TikTok around the personal data of US users of the application.
Nevertheless, these new rules, which should be transposed into a decree, would be one more step in a broader effort by the Biden administration to hamper China’s ability to develop technology that could pose a risk to national security. Always according to Wall Street JournalUS leaders will discuss it with their allies at an upcoming G7 summit in May.
The new program comes as the United States has severely restricted semiconductor exports to China. Upstream, the country revealed its first conditions for companies to obtain subsidies under the Chips Act, legislation aimed at greatly boosting the production of semiconductors in the country.
