Foundational Technologies v. Emerging Technologies v. Export Controls; U.S. Gov’t Set to Discuss
What counts as ‘foundational’ tech?
Excerpts and salient points ~
+ The department’s effort is aimed at making sure that other countries don’t gain an advantage over the United States, said Nazak Nikakhtar, acting undersecretary for industry and security. Acting quickly to place controls is essential because the United States is “neck and neck” with competitors and must assess “what can we do now to make sure that we have the tools to basically stay ahead without giving our adversaries a competitive advantage,” she said.
At a recent event held by the Bureau of Industry and Security, the agency within the Commerce Department that is responsible for export controls, U.S. officials told a large group of industry executives to be ready with their comments and concerns once the proposed rule making is announced.
+ The rules were mandated after Congress passed the 2019 defense authorization act calling on the Commerce Department to establish export controls on “emerging and foundational technologies” that are critical to U.S. national security. But tech companies, universities, and research labs across the country continue to be alarmed that overly broad export restrictions could ultimately hurt American technological superiority.
+ The department is not going to make precise definitions of emerging and foundational technologies leading up to categorical controls, Ashooh said. “That’s not what’s going to happen… controls will be iterative” or imposed in incremental steps, he said.
Source: Roll Call. Gopal Ratnam, What counts as ‘foundational’ tech?…
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