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Category: Cross Border

Cross Border

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,...

Cross Border

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...

Cross Border

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...

Cross Border

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...

Cross Border

The UK National Security and Investment Act 2021: A New Regime For Acquisition and Investment Transactions: Update

There have been a number of key developments in the evolution of the UK’s national security regime since our e-bulletin earlier this year (UK to Adopt New Powers Over M&A Activity To Protect National Security). First and foremost, the National Security and Investment Bill has now taken its place on the UK Statute Book as the National Security and Investment Act 2021 (the “Act”). The new legislation is set to come into force on the 4th January 2022. The Act...

Cross Border

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...

Cross Border

UK to Adopt New Powers Over M&A Activity to Protect National Security

Draft legislation currently being debated in the UK Parliament will introduce a new regime similar to that of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) while maintaining the UK’s position as an attractive forum for business and an openness to foreign investment. While the National Security and Investment Act (“NSIA”) will not come into effect until later this year, it will have retroactive effect from November 12, 2020. It is therefore important that entities contemplating any transaction...

Cross Border

More Grief for the “Big Guys”: Draft Revision of the China Anti-Monopoly Law Introduces Further Restraints on Influential Market Players

On January 2, 2020, China’s State Administration for Market Regulation, or the SAMR, released the Draft Revision of the Anti-Monopoly Law of China (the “Draft AML Revision”) for public comment.  The Draft AML Revision is significant in a number of respects, several of which will be highlighted below: (i) it makes it more likely that a transaction could trigger anti-monopoly review, (ii) it expands the concept of collusion to business operators who coordinate and assist in “collusion”, (iii) it increases...

Cross Border

China Forex Liberalization Unlocks Massive M&A Opportunities for Foreign Invested Enterprises

On October 23rd, 2019, the China State Administration of Foreign Exchange (“SAFE”) issued a Circular on Further Promoting the Facilitation of Cross-border Trade and Investment (Hui Fa [2019] No.28) (《关于进一步促进跨境贸易投资便利化的通知(汇发[2019]28 号)》, “Circular 28“). The Circular 28 sets out 12 reform measures aiming to streamline the foreign exchange process in cross-border trade and ease controls over cross-border investments. But the highlight of the Circular clearly is the relaxation of foreign exchange controls over foreign-invested enterprises (“FIE”) utilizing funds converted from foreign...