US imposing new export controls on biotech gear over China issues

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Division stated Wednesday it’s imposing new export controls on biotechnology gear and associated know-how due to nationwide safety issues tied to synthetic intelligence and information science.

Washington has raised issues that China might use U.S. know-how to strengthen navy capabilities and assist design new weapons via AI. The division stated the laboratory gear might be used for “human efficiency enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically-inspired artificial supplies, and presumably organic weapons.”

The brand new export controls, which limit shipments to China and different international locations with out a U.S. license, are for high-parameter circulation cytometers and sure mass spectrometry gear, which Commerce stated can “generate high-quality, high-content organic information, together with that which is appropriate to be used to facilitate the event of AI and organic design instruments.”

That is the most recent effort by Washington to limit U.S. know-how to China. On Monday, Commerce moved to additional limit AI chip and know-how exports from China aimed toward serving to the US preserve its dominant standing in AI by controlling it around the globe.

U.S. lawmakers have been contemplating quite a few proposals to maintain Individuals’ private well being and genetic info from international adversaries and intention to push U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech firms to minimize their reliance on China for all the things from drug ingredient manufacturing to early analysis.

Final week, U.S. lawmakers known as on the Commerce Division to think about proscribing the export of U.S. biotechnology to the Chinese language navy, citing issues Beijing might weaponize it.

The Chinese language Embassy in Washington final week stated Beijing “firmly opposes any nation’s improvement, possession or use of organic weapons.”

In August, U.S. lawmakers known as on the Meals and Drug Administration to ramp up scrutiny of U.S. medical trials performed in China, citing the danger of mental property theft and the potential of pressured participation of members of China’s Uyghur minority group.