In AI, U.S. Economic Statecraft Must Fire on all Cylinders

On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA). The law's intent is to stop China's acquisition of critical technologies -- the'crown jewels' of U.S. global power. FIRRMA expands the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the national security implications of foreign investments. The CFIUS reform bill subjects more transactions to review and mandates that foreign investments in critical technologies are reported to the committee. Championed initially as a strong response to China's technology transfer strategy, FIRRMA's passage, coupled with ongoing trade and IP tensions, caused Chinese investments into U.S. technology firms to decline by 79% in 2018.