New laws could block Chinese investment in US technology firms
According to Reuters, the US Treasury Department is looking to implement new legislature that would prevent any company with at least 25% Chinese ownership from acquiring a majority stake in US firms that provide “industrially significant” technologies.
The news has been confirmed by a US Government Official, matching a report from the Wall Street Journal last week.
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The new laws will only serve to escalate the ongoing trade war that has developed between the US and China under Donald Trump’s Presidency, with the US set to implement $34bn of tariffs on Chinese goods on 6 July – the first of a possible $450bn.
The Official has revealed that the Treasury would invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 in order to implement the new restrictions, providing the President with the authority to restrict national assets based on security concerns.
Further, according to the Wall Street Journal, the US Commerce Department and National Security Council are similarly looking to implement heightened export controls to prevent advanced technologies from being offered and/ or shipped to China.
