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President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order banning certain foreign investments in the United States because some governments use them to steal the nation’s data and technology, endangering national security.
It is the first time that a U.S. president has asked the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), created in 1975, to take into account the risks that some investments by foreign nations may pose to the United States, the White House said in a statement.
Specifically, Biden’s executive order recognizes that some countries use foreign investments to access specific data and technologies, which are detrimental to U.S. security.
The order lists those sectors where theft of technologies or intellectual property could endanger the United States, such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, clean energy, and so-called critical materials, the key to building any technology.
The White House statement explains that the action is directed against nations that compete with or are rivals of Washington but does not mention any country by name.
Asked by the press, a senior U.S. official said the measure is not expressly directed against China. Several U.S. governments, including Biden’s, have called for greater respect for the intellectual property of U.S. companies.
Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump (2017-2021), announced in 2018 a plan to restrict Chinese investments in technology companies to combat intellectual property theft, which sparked major tension between the two powers.
In addition, Trump significantly raised tariffs on imports from China, and the current Administration has maintained them on imports worth $350 billion by considering that some levies ensure U.S. national security.
