McCaul Welcomes Treasury’s Final Rule on Outbound Investment

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, is “glad” the Biden administration is moving forward with a final rule that will restrict U.S. outbound investment in China’s AI, quantum and semiconductor sectors, a spokesperson for the committee’s majority said Oct. 30.

McCaul also remains “fully supportive” of efforts by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to pass outbound investment legislation this year, the spokesperson said. The House is trying to reach a compromise between lawmakers who favor a sector-based approach and those who would rather impose sanctions on individual entities (see 2410250025).

The rule, which the Treasury Department released Oct. 28, is scheduled to take effect Jan. 2 (see 2410290034). Experts have said that passing a law would make it harder to undo the restrictions and would give Congress a mechanism to conduct much-needed oversight (see 2405240042).