Author: Justin Huff

Eight New Bases Officially Added to CFIUS’s Real Estate Jurisdiction

As we have discussed previously, proximity to sensitive U.S. Department of Defense military bases and operations, such as testing ranges, is an important element of many reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”, or the “Committee”). Perhaps the most famous example being President Obama’s 2012 Executive Order directing the Ralls Corporation to divest its interest in an Oregon wind farm operation near a U.S. Navy restricted airspace and bombing zone. Today during a CFIUS review,...

Outbound Investment Screening Becomes a Reality

On August 9, after months of deliberations, President Biden issued a new Executive Order on Addressing United States Investments in Certain National Security Technologies and Products in Countries of Concern (the “EO”). Simultaneously, the Department of the Treasury issued a draft advance notice of proposed rulemaking seeking public comment on the Executive Order’s implementing regulations. This EO is focused on preventing China, including the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, from developing national security technologies and products. National...

Recent Changes in the CFIUS Evaluation Process

Recently the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”, or the “Committee”) announced three changes that impact how the Committee evaluates foreign investments in U.S. businesses. While the changes appear minor, the modifications provide CFIUS with even greater capabilities to ensure protection of U.S. national security. “Springing Rights” are No Longer an Option. Following the passage of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (“FIRRMA”), certain transactions involving TID U.S. businesses[1] that afford foreign investors control or certain...

Outbound Investment Screening Executive Order

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. The law directs the Department of the Treasury, in coordination with the Department of Commerce and other Federal partners, “to consider establishing a program to address the national security threats emanating from outbound investments from the United States in certain sectors that are critical for U.S. national security.” The law also provides funding for multiple departments and agencies and includes specific explanatory statements. Further, the law...

Foreign-Owned U.S. Companies Must Soon Respond to Federal Survey

The Bureau of Economic Analysis is required to conduct a national survey of foreign direct investment in the United States every five years, and all U.S. companies with non-US persons owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting equity that company are required to complete a Benchmark Report in 2023. This requirement exists for all U.S. companies with such foreign ownership, even if they have not been individually contacted by BEA to ask for such a...

Consideration of Evolving National Security Risks by CFIUS

On September 15, 2022, President Biden issued Executive Order 14083 (“EO 14083”) which the White House describes as a “first-ever presidential directive defining additional national security factors for CFIUS to consider in evaluating transactions.” Rumors of its publication have been circulating in Washington, D.C. for months, and for those that follow foreign investment activity in the United States, it is revealing any time the Executive Branch speaks publicly about CFIUS. Click here for a few insights into how EO 14083...

U.S. National Security Issues in Cross-Border Food, Beverage & Agribusiness Deals

On October 28, 2021, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced the Food Security is National Security Act of 2021 (the “Act”). Among other things, the Act would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) to consider the “potential effects of [certain foreign investment transactions] on the security of the food and agriculture systems of the United States, including any effects on the availability of, access to, or safety and quality of food.” In other words, certain foreign...

How CFIUS Foreign Transaction Monitoring Broadened

2020 is a year we will not soon forget. 2020 was also a year full of dramatic changes for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The committee’s mandate remained the same — review foreign investments in U.S. businesses to protect national security. When necessary, the president can prohibit a proposed transaction, or require a foreign person to divest their interest in a U.S. business on national security grounds. However, important modifications to the CFIUS process were introduced...