US prepares new rules on investment in technology abroad: WSJ

THE Treasury Department is preparing a new programme that could prohibit US investment in certain sectors of adversarial nations, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday (Mar 3), citing copies of reports provided to lawmakers on Capitol Hill viewed by the newspaper.

The Biden administration’s work on the new rules would in practice largely deal with US investments in China, though the report given to lawmakers did not identify any countries, WSJ said.

The new rules are expected to cover private-equity and venture-capital investments in advanced semiconductors, supercomputing and some forms of artificial intelligence, WSJ reported quoting people familiar with the matter as saying.

The Treasury and Commerce departments expected to finalise their policy in the near future, it added.

Reuters reported last month that the Biden administration was planning an outright ban on investments in some Chinese technology companies and increased scrutiny of others.

The US passed a sweeping set of regulations last year that aimed at hobbling China’s semiconductor industry. REUTERS