President Biden sends a message to foreign investors and the business community that CFIUS will closely review transactions with certain risk factors.
On September 15, 2022, President Biden issued an Executive Order (the Executive Order) relating to national security reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This is the first executive order since the creation of CFIUS in 1975 that provides “directions” to CFIUS to ensure that CFIUS exams “remain[] responsive to evolving national security risks. While the EO does not expand the jurisdiction of CFIUS or the process by which CFIUS conducts its reviews, the EO provides more specific guidance to CFIUS on five risk factors that CFIUS should consider when reviewing the potential impact of a proposed transaction on the national security of the United States. As noted in a White House statement released at the same time, the EA also “recognizes the importance of continued improvements to the foreign investment review process and directs CFIUS to continue to regularly review its processes, practices and regulations to ensure they remain responsive. evolving threats to national security.
Please see the alert below for more information.