Trump signs executive order blocking Venezuela and other ’foreign adversaries’ from accessing US technology

President Donald Trump signed an executive order blocking Venezuela, China, Macau, Hong Kong, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba, which he labeled as “foreign adversaries,” from accessing U.S. technology. 

Although President Trump did not specify the exact measures his administration would take to block these countries' access to U.S. technology, he outlined that artificial intelligence would be the area most heavily restricted. In the executive order, Trump did not mention Venezuela by name, instead referring to it as the "regime of Venezuelan politician Nicolas Maduro.”

Focus on China

Trump's order primarily targets the Chinese regime under Xi Jinping, arguing that numerous companies linked to China have invested in the United States in recent years to illicitly acquire critical technology. The order also states that the Chinese communist regime would use such technology to modernize its armed forces, intelligence services, and other security agencies.

"Investment at all costs is not always in the national interest, however. Certain foreign adversaries, including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), systematically direct and facilitate investment in United States companies and assets to obtain cutting-edge technologies, intellectual property, and leverage in strategic industries. The PRC pursues these strategies in diverse ways, both visible and concealed, and often through partner companies or investment funds in third countries," the president said.

Furthermore, Trump noted in his executive order that "The PRC is also increasingly exploiting United States capital to develop and modernize its military, intelligence, and other security apparatuses, which poses significant risk to the United States homeland and Armed Forces of the United States around the world. Related actions include the development and deployment of dual-use technologies, weapons of mass destruction, advanced conventional weapons, and malicious cyber enabled actions against the United States and its people."