U.S. Treasury issues new rules on foreign investments

The Treasury Department has issued new rules on foreign investments into American companies that will give the government more power to block foreign transactions on national security grounds.

The rules represent the latest escalation in an intensifying economic conflict between the United States and China. The Treasury Department will implement a program for tougher reviews of foreign acquisitions that Congress approved this summer.

The new regulations will require foreign investors to alert a Treasury-led interagency committee to all deals that would give the foreign investors access to critical technology covering 27 industries, including semiconductors, telecommunications and defence.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says the new rules will “address specific risks to U.S. critical technology.”

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Country of the month: China