U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing the use of a law enacted for national emergencies to clamp down on Chinese acquisitions of sensitive technology, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
By invoking the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Trump would be authorized to regulate commerce by blocking transactions and freezing assets, after declaring a national emergency in response to "unusual and extraordinary threat," the report noted.
Treasury Department officials are preparing plans to identify technology sectors where Chinese investments will be prohibited, according to the report's sources with knowledge of the proposal.
To push back against Beijing's foreign investment restrictions, the Trump administration is considering a regulatory arrangement under which Washington would only approve deals in sectors in which U.S. firms are allowed to invest in China, two of the report's sources also said.
The administration is still reviewing options and a plan has not been set, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Trump blocked chipmaker Broadcom Ltd.'s $117 billion bid to buy competitor QUALCOMM Inc. after a review by a national security panel.