The US front is divided on the issue of how to limit foreign investment in the country. This conflict became particularly visible yesterday when Finance Minister Steven Mnuchin said measures to curb foreign investment in US technology were not against China. Hours later, the US trade adviser Peter Navarro denied his words and said Beijing was the main target.
The contradictions in Washington are based on the fact that one side of Steven Mnuchin prefers the US Foreign Investment Commission, which assesses the national risk of foreign acquisitions of the US companies. Others, however, support a more aggressive approach - the announcement of an economic emergency and the activation of a rarely-used law from 1977.
"We have the greatest technologies in the world. People copy and steal them, but we have great scientists. We have great brains and we will protect them", said Donald Trump. "And this can be done through the Commission, we can do a lot of things", added the president, taking a stand in the US policy dispute.
In his words, China is not the only country that will be affected by the new restrictions. Thus, he repeated the words of Steven Mnuchin, who denied Beijing's main purpose of American action.
"Not only the Chinese. We have a very clever state. We have the most amazing people in the Silicon Valley. We do not want China or other countries", said the US President.
Meanwhile, US Congress is working on a draft law to increase the powers of the Commission for Foreign Investment. If it passes, the foreign investors, who want to buy US companies, will face more difficulties before they get regulatory approval.
