‘Targeted and Precise’: Innovation versus Regulation in the Critical Technology Sector
The People’s Republic of China’s illicit transfer and weaponization of foreign critical technologies pose a dire threat to U.S. national security and global leadership. While the dominant policy discourse promotes a whole-of-government approach to mitigating these risks, less attention has been given to the potential negative effects of the shift to stronger industrial policies on the American research and development ecosystem. Even when written for strategic competitiveness, too-broad regulations stifle innovation by imposing barriers to entry for new competitors, with disproportionate negative impacts falling on parties with less access to capital and who abide strictly by the law.
