Trump Issues Executive Order Tightening Restrictions on Chinese Investments in U.S.

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – President Trump signed a national security memorandum on Friday directing the Federal Government to restrict Chinese investments in the U.S. that pose a threat to national security.

The national security memorandum signed by the president on Friday aims to encourage foreign investment in the U.S. from friends and allies, while limiting acquisitions from adversaries, “particularly from threats posed by foreign adversaries like the People’s Republic of China,” according to a White House fact sheet.

The Treasury Department’s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which can review and block foreign acquisitions of U.S. assets, is being granted enhanced powers to restrict Chinese transactions in the U.S.

“The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States will be used to restrict Chinese investments in strategic U.S. sectors such as technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials, and others,” stated the fact sheet.

China sharply criticized President Trump’s directives, with the Ministry of Commerce arguing that the U.S. was “overstretching the concept of national security and engaging in discriminatory practices,” as reported by the Chinese state-controlled Global Times. The complaint highlighted concerns that the new measures disrupt normal economic and trade cooperation. These restrictions come in response to Chinese acquisitions of U.S. farmland and companies near sensitive areas over several decades.

Recently, Chinese investment in American farmland has increased, including the ownership of land near 19 U.S. military bases.

Additionally, the acquisition of Smithfield Foods in 2013 has positioned Beijing as the owner of the largest pork producer in the U.S.

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