2023-10-25 15:18:29
The European Union has told the Biden administration it is concerned about U.S. restrictions on foreign investment going to China. The EU fears these restrictions could hit EU businesses, adding yet another commercial irritant to transatlantic ties.
Senior EU officials have strongly communicated the concerns to their U.S. counterparts, according to people familiar with the matter and documents seen by Bloomberg.
The concern is that an executive order announced by President Joe Biden in August has extraterritorial aspects that could end up affecting trade in the EU that involves European-based companies with US investors on the one hand and Chinese owners on the other, the companies said. people.
While the executive order is narrow in scope — targeting some Chinese companies that work primarily in areas related to artificial intelligence, quantum computing and advanced semiconductors — it would likely apply to U.S. citizens anywhere in the world.
A Treasury Department spokeswoman said the order is strictly aimed at U.S. national security interests.
The EU is still analyzing the full impact of the order and aims to address concerns before the instrument is fully implemented next year.
The concerns add to a growing list of issues facing the EU-US trade relationship. During their summit in Washington last week, the two allies failed to conclude two major deals: one on steel, intended to turn the page on Trump-era tariffs, and a separate deal on critical minerals, needed to give European companies access to some of the benefits of Biden’s green subsidy plan.
Controls on overseas investment are part of US and EU economic security plans to limit the ability of countries like China and Russia to obtain know-how or capital to develop advanced technologies that could be used for military purposes. .
The US is further along in these efforts. The EU recently identified a list of critical technologies on which it will carry out risk assessments and intends to present its own draft proposal on overseas investment later this year.
#fears #restrictions #foreign #investment #destined #China #affect #companies