Keeping Up With New US Push On Strategic Tech Competition
Article | September 19, 2022
Law360
Recent actions by the U.S. government make clear that it views strategic competition surrounding emerging technologies as an urgent national security imperative.
This focus likely will only sharpen in coming months as the government increasingly explores novel legal and regulatory tools to supplement more traditional approaches to achieve national security objectives.
Key recent developments include:
- Legislative proposals to screen outbound investments;
- Funding restrictions designed to curtail expansion of semiconductor manufacturing abroad;
- White House consideration of using executive orders to protect technology competitiveness and restrict technology transfers; and
- The increasing use of export control restrictions.
Each of these developments is intended to enable the U.S. government to exert more control over outbound technology transfers, particularly aimed at curbing the potential flow of sensitive technologies or technologies of significant importance to U.S. national security to strategic competitors such as China and Russia.
While uncertainty remains over the precise mechanisms the government will leverage to achieve its national security objectives, it is increasingly clear that the government will supplement its traditional toolkit with innovative tools to do so.
Given this evolving landscape, companies should carefully consider their potential exposure and proactively assess their approaches to navigating geopolitical strategic competition.
Originally published by Law360, © 2022, Portfolio Media Inc., September 19, 2022. Reprinted with permission.
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