The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has nominated prominent hawkish figure Landon Heid to take on a key role in the Department of Commerce responsible for export control amid the increasingly intense tech war between the US and China. According to a report by Reuters, a document from the US Senate shows that Heid has been nominated as the Assistant Secretary for Export Administration at the Department of Commerce. He will assist in formulating US export control measures to prevent the transfer of artificial intelligence (AI) chips, chip manufacturing equipment, and other technologies to China and other countries. Neither the White House nor Heid have immediately responded to requests for comment.
Heid previously served on the House Committee on China, assisting the committee in shaping technology policy and orchestrating a series of actions aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party’s threats to US national security. Last month, just before the US Department of Commerce announced new regulations to enhance global control over AI chip flows, the House Committee on China publicly supported the establishment of a robust global licensing system to regulate AI development.
Last year, Heid pushed for restrictions on business dealings between the US and Chinese biotech companies such as BGI, WuXi Apptec, WuXi Biologics, and others. The proposed legislation gained momentum in the previous Congress but has not yet been passed in Congress.
If confirmed by the Senate, Heid is expected to report to Jeffrey Kessler, who has been nominated to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) as the Deputy Secretary of Commerce. Kessler is a trade lawyer based in Washington.
The Bureau of Industry and Security of the US Department of Commerce is responsible for overseeing technology export controls on competitors like the Chinese Communist Party that threaten US national security. In the past decade, export controls have become a potent weapon in the US’s tech war against China.