Andrea Shalal, David Lauder, Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The United States on Friday unveiled targeted proposed rules that would ban or require notification of U.S. investments in Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) and other key technology areas that could threaten U.S. national security.
The Treasury Department published the proposed rules and a set of exceptions after an initial comment period following an executive order signed by President Joe Biden last August that puts the onus on U.S. individuals and companies to decide which transactions to restrict or prohibit.
Public comments will be accepted until August 4th, meaning the US is on track to implement the regulations by the end of the year as expected.
Biden’s executive order, which directs restrictions on certain U.S. investments in semiconductors, microelectronics, quantum computing and artificial intelligence, reflects growing frustration with China’s aggressive efforts to dominate global markets, particularly in emerging technologies.
“The proposed rule would advance our national security by preventing many of the benefits of certain U.S. investments — other than capital — from supporting the development of sensitive technologies in countries that could threaten our national security,” said Paul Rosen, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Investment Security.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal and David Lauder in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Chris Sanders and Chizu Nomiyama)
