Obama stops Chinese-owned wind farms

President Barack Obama on Friday blocked the construction of four small wind farms in Oregon by Chinese-owned Ralls Corp., effectively ratifying the recommendation of a government national security committee.

The decision was the first against foreign investment under the Defense Production Act since that law was amended by Congress in 2007 in response to the controversial takeover of a number of U.S. port management contracts by Dubai Ports World.

Obama's order also threatened to heighten trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, with both countries already pursuing tariffs over solar panel cells and other clean energy exports.