United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Friday aimed at restricting access to American technology for countries classified as 'foreign adversaries', including Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Russia, and China. The measure does not specifically detail what actions will be taken to limit these countries' access to U.S. technology.
The order identifies China, Hong Kong, Macao, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Nicolás Maduro's regime in Venezuela as 'foreign adversaries'. Trump argues that economic security is also national security, emphasizing the importance of protecting the nation's sensitive infrastructures and technologies, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, and biotechnology.
Particularly, the order focuses on China, pointing out that companies linked to Beijing have used investments in the U.S. to access key technologies and modernize their military apparatus. Trump assigns the U.S. Trade Representative the responsibility of investigating potential misuse of American technology by China.
These measures add to the trade restrictions imposed by Trump since his return to the White House, aiming to balance the trade deficit and pressure countries like Mexico and Canada to make concessions on immigration and drug trafficking issues. China has been one of the main targets of these restrictions, with a 10% tariff imposed.
Additionally, Trump signed another executive order threatening to impose tariffs on foreign governments that apply digital taxes on American companies. The order targets 'discriminatory, disproportionate, or designed measures to transfer significant funds or intellectual property' from U.S. companies.
In a statement, the White House emphasizes its commitment not to allow American companies to be affected by extortionate taxes in foreign economies and announces a process for these companies to report actions considered disproportionate. It also mentions the possibility of investigating technology taxes imposed by countries like Spain, the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Austria, and Turkey during Trump's first term.
