US ‘may exacerbate national security risks’ with unclear China tech restrictions, new congessional report says
- The Commerce Department has been slow to create a list of sensitive technology that should be scrutinised before export, according to the document
- The lack of clarity required by law passed in 2018, ‘may exacerbate national security risks’, says report author
The US government has failed to provide clarity on what critical technologies American businesses should be restricted in selling to China to protect US national security, a congressional report said on Tuesday.
In the report published by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC), the advisory board said the Commerce Department had been very slow to come up with a list of “emerging and foundational” technologies that should be examined before exporting to China.
The lack of clarity on what types of technologies should be put under scrutiny, required by law passed in 2018, “impedes the ability” by various government agencies to review relevant transactions and “may exacerbate national security risks”, said Emma Rafaelof, the author of the report.
Contrary to the most effective export controls that target a narrow list of products with robust protection, an approach known as “small yard, high fence”, US agencies now lack the guidance on how to determine the boundary of its yard, according to the report.
The USCC, which was created two decades ago to advise lawmakers on the national security implications of trade with China, asked Congress to look into reasons for the multi-year delays and look for ways to speed up the guideline making going forward, including whether a different agency should be handed the authority to come up with the list, and how to coordinate efforts among agencies to tap the expertise needed for this task.