Further curbs on tech, military exports to China leave US businesses dazed

US businesses with a China footprint are preparing for more rough times as further restrictions on tech exports are set to take effect

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Restrictions on US tech trade with China are likely to escalate, leaving American businesses struggling to keep up. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:15pm, 22 Oct 2024Updated: 9:05am, 23 Oct 2024

Regardless of the outcome of the United States presidential election in early November, the business community is bracing for more hardship as Washington appears poised to ramp up trade restrictions on China no matter the victor.

Notes from an annual exchange between US officials and business delegations in September, obtained by the Post earlier this month, suggested further containment will focus on four areas: the military end user rule, cloud computing, information and communications technology and the Biosecure Act.

Future actions related to the first three areas – which fall under the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce – would likely strengthen the regulation of military-related exports, increase scrutiny on cloud services and set new rules for the trade of critical technologies.

At the meeting, the US-China Business Council reiterated concerns over the application of new rules from the bureau covering all US nationals that would mandate a licence for any items sent to military entities overseas.

“The proposed rules are unilateral, with no equivalent in other countries,” the council said, adding that “more regulations” makes ensuring customers are not linked to military entities “an almost impossible task”.

In a notice issued on September 26, the bureau said it would be implementing an executive order to address national security risks posed by the connected vehicle supply chain.