It was made illegal by E.O. of Bush mentor Jerry Ford and later Carter. It is only an E.O. and can be rescinded.
The EO really only matters if we intend to do it ourselves. But we don't really have to be the ones to do the wet work. The EO can even provide plausible deniability when we give our assent to let somebody else do it. My money's on the Chinese, who will in turn use their influence on their regime agents to make it an inside job.