Overview
- The U.S. Treasury published a proposed rule that would expand the Outbound Investment Security Program to cover China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Cuba and would ban certain U.S. investments in advanced AI systems in those countries.
- The draft names six covered technology areas: advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence systems, quantum information technologies, high-performance computing and supercomputing, hypersonic systems, and biotechnology.
- Treasury would require investors to notify the agency about many private deals in those sectors while exempting ordinary purchases of publicly traded shares, transactions under $50,000, and some pharmaceutical licensing agreements; investors can also seek national-interest waivers.
- The proposal follows a statutory expansion in the COINS Act of December 2025 and builds on an active enforcement record that includes a civil penalty announced in October for a failed reporting obligation.
- If finalized, the rule could force U.S. venture funds, corporate investors and multinational firms to add screening and compliance checks for overseas portfolio companies and could reshape where U.S. capital flows into advanced technologies.