Access to private citizen data is also blocked.
On Thursday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the panel screening foreign investment to look at deals in areas U.S. officials say are of interest to China. The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States screens for national security risks and, under the president’s order, would scrutinize deals that could give China and other adversaries access to critical technologies or endanger supply chains and personal data.
For years the committee’s powers were limited largely to blocking the foreign acquisition of American firms that might have a direct impact on national security — a military contractor, for example.
But the new order directs the committee, known by the acronym CFIUS, to concentrate on specific types of transactions that would give a foreign power access to key technologies that President Biden has identified as critical to American economic growth.
The president’s order has been anticipated for months, especially after the priorities were not included in an industrial policy bill passed by Congress recently to invest in key technologies. However, the order does not regulate “outbound investment” by American companies in foreign nations, though President Biden’s administration seems likely to seek new authorities to regulate that as well. For years, one concern has been that China requires companies to turn over technology as part of the price for being allowed to enter the Chinese market.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the president and his administration as efforts are made to prevent Chinese espionage and interference.
- For U.S. governing officials as they seek to protect national security.
- For wisdom for American leaders regarding incoming and outgoing technology regulations.
Sources: Wall Street Journal, NY Times
