US Treasury proposes COINS Act rules that would ban AI investment in countries of concern

The US Treasury Department on October 22, 2026 announced proposed rules implementing the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act, or COINS Act, passed in December 2025. The proposal would require notification for prospective investments in six sectors in China, Russia, North Korea, Iran and Cuba, and would ban investments outright in artificial intelligence. Comments are due through December 7, 2026, and the effective date will be set in the final rule. Venezuela was dropped from the list of countries of concern.

Treasury used its authority to add biotechnology as a sixth sector, alongside advanced semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence systems, quantum information technologies, high-performance computing and supercomputing, and hypersonic systems. Inside BCI's analysis of the proposed text puts brain-computer interfaces in the prohibited tier, covering invasive, non-invasive and hybrid systems and their software, with no end-use limit. The proposed rules allow certain exceptions, including investments in publicly traded companies.

Sources: Reuters; Inside BCI