United States | Assuming the position

Joe Biden’s government has not yet committed to a path on trade in technology with China

To understand which way it will jump, watch the hitherto obscure Bureau of Industry and Security

THE PROCESS of filling vacancies at the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) does not normally make the news. An agency of the Department of Commerce, BIS is tasked with running America’s export-control regulations. These rules were originally designed to prevent the components of weapons of mass destruction from being shipped off to terrorists. The work of overseeing them was important public service, but carried out in the background, away from the public eye.

This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Assuming the position”

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