US Treasury proposes rules to block American investments in AI and semiconductors

The US Treasury wants to put a tighter leash on where American capital can go. The department has proposed new rules that would block US investments in artificial intelligence and semiconductors for some foreign countries. Washington has spent years controlling which chips leave the country. Now it is paying equal attention to which dollars leave the country to build them elsewhere. The proposal lands on top of an existing framework that is already being enforced. That framework has already produced a penalty, and Congress has already ordered it to grow. What Treasury is building on The foundation is the Outbound Investment Security Program, or OISP. It took effect on January 2, 2025. The program targets investments by US persons in certain Chinese entities. Its focus areas are semiconductors, quantum technologies, and artificial intelligence. It works in two tiers. Some deals are prohibited outright, while others require Treasury to be notified. The program traces back to Executive Order 14105, dated August 9, 2023. That order set the policy direction, and Treasury spent the following period turning it into enforceable rules. The stated rationale is national security. The concern ...