U.S. Imposes New Export Controls on Biotechnology Equipment

By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Wednesday new export controls on biotechnology equipment and related technology due to national security concerns linked to artificial intelligence (AI) and data science.

Washington is concerned that China might utilize U.S. technology to bolster its military capabilities and develop advanced weaponry through AI. The department indicated that laboratory equipment could potentially be employed for “human performance enhancement, brain-machine interfaces, biologically-inspired synthetic materials, and possibly biological weapons.”

The latest export controls restrict shipments to China and other nations without a U.S. license. This includes high-parameter flow cytometers and specific mass spectrometry equipment, which Commerce stated can “generate high-quality, high-content biological data, including that which is suitable for use to facilitate the development of AI and biological design tools.”

This action represents the most recent initiative by Washington to limit U.S. technological exports to China. On Monday, Commerce also moved to tighten restrictions on AI chip and technology exports to safeguard the U.S.’s leading position in AI.

U.S. lawmakers have been deliberating various proposals aimed at protecting Americans’ personal health and genetic data from foreign adversaries and encouraging U.S. pharmaceutical and biotech firms to reduce their dependency on China for drug ingredient production and preliminary research.

Last week, U.S. lawmakers urged the Commerce Department to contemplate restricting the export of U.S. biotechnology to the Chinese military due to fears that Beijing could weaponize it.

In response, the Chinese Embassy in Washington stated that Beijing “firmly opposes any country’s development, possession, or use of biological weapons.”

In August, legislators asked the Food and Drug Administration to increase oversight of U.S. clinical trials carried out in China, highlighting the risks of intellectual property theft and the potential forced participation of China’s Uyghur minority group.