Trump softens threat of new curbs on Chinese investment in US tech firms



WASHINGTON (WASHINGTON POST) - The Trump administration said it would rely on an existing Treasury Department-led committee to restrict new Chinese investments in American technology companies, backing away from a more aggressive approach that would have declared a national economic emergency and dramatically limited China’s ability to invest in the United States.
President Donald Trump opted instead to rely on legislation to enhance the powers of the committee known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, which reviews proposed acquisitions of US assets by foreign investors.
At the end of its review, the president can block proposed investments. Both the House and Senate have passed versions of a Bill to increase the panel’s authority to review a variety of investments not covered under current law, including minority stakes.
The measures passed with strong bipartisan support in both chambers. On Tuesday, the House Bill was approved by a margin of 400 to two.
The move caps an intense internal debate between Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who favoured working within the beefed-up CFIUS process, and trade hard-liners like Peter Navarro, a White House adviser.
The administration’s get-tough-on-China faction urged the president to employ sweeping powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which would have allowed him to impose harsh limits.
The president was presented with this recommendation on Tuesday and agreed to it, Mnuchin told reporters. He said White House advisers were “100 per cent unanimous” in favour of the decision.
“We have different views and the benefit of the president having different advisers is at times we will express different views. That’s a healthy process. I respect at the end of the day it’s the president’s decision,” Mnuchin said.Officials had considered limiting Chinese-owned companies from acquiring more than 25 per cent of American firms that own sensitive technologies. Early reaction from at least one prominent Republican was negative.
“If in fact President Trump is now backtracking on tough limits on Chinese investment, it is a VERY BIG MISTAKE,” Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Youthful Nigeria face tough Iceland test

Image
Nigeria take on Iceland on Friday, seeking to salvage their faltering  World Cup  campaign but wary of the Nordic team’s capacity to go toe to toe with their supposed superiors. Coach Gernot Rohr’s Super Eagles — who brought the youngest squad to Russia, with an average age of around 25 years of age — have now won just one of their past 13 games at World Cups. Nigeria reached the knockout phase at the 2014 World Cup, but slipped to a 2-0 defeat in their Group D opener against Croatia in Kaliningrad, courtesy of an Oghenekaro Etebo own-goal and a Luka Modric penalty. Their side, including 19-year-old goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, were almost unrecognisable from the team beaten by France in the last 16 four years ago. “Sometimes we were a little bit naive on set pieces but we will work on it,” said Rohr. Iceland are buoyant after what their coach Heimir Hallgrimsson described as a “schoolbook example” of how to defend against Lionel Messi’s Argentina. Messi complained...
Read more

Nigeria.How military personnel ran into herdsmen’s ambush in Benue .in Nigeria

Image
Last Tuesday no doubt was a black day for troops of Operation Whirl Stroke, OPWS, a military spike operation put in place to check the attacks by the resilient herdsmen in Benue state that have claimed close to 700 lives since the beginning of year which started with the New Year’s Day massacre of over 73 women, children and the elderly in Logo and Guma local government areas of the state On that fateful day the troops came under the fire of the well oiled firing power of the marauders in an ambush along Bakin-Korta, Mbadwem Council Ward of Guma local government area of Benue State and Keana in Nasarawa state leaving two dead and five others with serious bullet injuries. That attack also left the Unit Commander of the troops with serious bullet injury requiring surgery to stabilize his condition while their operational truck was riddled with bullets.
Read more