US considers plan to ‘seize or freeze’ assets of Chinese caught stealing American intellectual property

The Trump administration is considering imposing sanctions on Chinese entities caught stealing US intellectual property via cyberattacks, three people familiar with the matter said.

The plan being discussed would use an Obama administration executive order that allows the US to impose sanctions on individuals or entities engaging in “malicious cyber-enabled activities”.

But it has sparked a heated debate among administration officials, with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who has jurisdiction over the potential sanctions, said to be blocking the effort, the people said.

If the administration chooses to go ahead it could seize or freeze the assets of Chinese companies caught stealing US firms’ intellectual property. It could also ban them from doing business with American companies.

The ongoing debate highlights how the Trump administration has been looking at raising the pressure on Beijing via measures beyond tariffs, all of which are part of what officials see as an existential innovation war with China.

The administration is preparing to proceed with new tariffs on some 6,000 products from China that account for US$200 billion in annual trade which US President Donald Trump said would be imposed “soon”.