The Trump administration plans to place investment restrictions on “all countries that are trying to steal” U.S. technology, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday, refuting reports over the weekend that such measures would specifically target China.
Mnuchin said a pair of stories published by Bloomberg News and the Wall Street Journal about Trump’s planned actions against China “are false, fake news.”
“The leaker either doesn’t exist or know the subject very well,” Mnuchin tweeted, adding that the Treasury Department will release details of the restrictions shortly.
On behalf of @realDonaldTrump, the stories on investment restrictions in Bloomberg & WSJ are false, fake news. The leaker either doesn’t exist or know the subject very well. Statement will be out not specific to China, but to all countries that are trying to steal our technology.
— Steven Mnuchin (@stevenmnuchin1) June 25, 2018
The administration is expected to limit foreign investments in U.S. companies with “industrially significant technology,” and block firms with at least 25 percent Chinese ownership from investing in the United States.
Trump has already imposed tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese goods as part of his effort to pressure Beijing into reducing its trade deficit with the U.S. and ending other practices deemed unfair by the administration.
Trump threatened to impose tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese goods this month after Chinese officials warned of retaliatory measures. The president’s top trade adviser Peter Navarro told reporters late last week that China has more to lose in the trade dispute than the United States.
