CHINA/TRADE DEALS/TREASURY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The U.S. Treasury Department is planning to use laws designed to address national emergencies to block Chinese firms from acquiring advanced U.S. technology, part of a Trump administration initiative to thwart what it sees as Beijing’s efforts to give itself an economic and military edge, according to administration officials. The Trump administration is looking to use a number of legal measures in its arsenal, including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, or IEEPA, which gives the president broad authority in the case of an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat,’ according to a senior official familiar with administration plans. The law was widely employed after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to impose sanctions on other countries, and observers say courts haven’t questioned the usage of the law. Gary Hufbauer a legal trade expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said in a report that the strategy could give Mr. Trump ‘a free hand’ to address the administration’s concern about Chinese trade and investment practices.”
-Bob Davis, “Treasury to Use National Security Laws to Shield U.S. Tech From China,” The Wall Street Journal online, Mar. 28, 2018, 9:44am