The Department of the Treasury also released an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), with proposed definitions to elaborate the scope of the program, which will be subject to public notice and comment before it goes into effect. The program will seek to prevent foreign countries of concern from exploiting U.S. investment in this narrow set of technologies that are critical to support their development of military, intelligence, surveillance and cyber-enabled capabilities that risk U.S. national security. 

The program complements the United States’ existing export control and inbound screening tools with a “small yard, high fence” approach to address the national security threat posed by countries of concern advancing such sensitive technologies. Specifically, it will prohibit certain investments in entities that engage in specific activities related to these technology areas that pose the most acute national security risks, and require notification for other sensitive investments.