Attorneys dealing with the U.S. process of vetting foreign direct investments for security concerns have been busy explaining what the recent Congressional reforms mean for this process (the CFIUS process, named for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which does the vetting).
Carl A. Valenstein, Josh Mecham, Rebecca S. Hartley and Natasha Christensen of Thelen, Reid, Brown Raysman & Steiner have a relatively pessimistic take: United States: Amendments To Exon-Florio Process Made By The Foreign Investment And National Security Act Of 2007 May Have A Chilling Effect On Foreign Investment In The United States (August 23).
This is a nice article with useful background to the reform, a reasonably detailed description of the changes, and a short concluding analysis. While many believe the reforms will lead to less politicization of the process, these authors do not:
Finally, because of the enhanced reporting by CFIUS to Congress and, notwithstanding the confidentiality safeguards, the Exon-Florio review process is likely to become more politicized and any foreign investor engaged in a transaction involving critical infrastructure or technology should be prepared in advance not only with a legal but a governmental relations strategy.
Noel J. Francisco and Bevin M.B. Newman of Jones and Day provide a brief description of the changes with no analysis: United States: Congress Reforms CFIUS Review Process (August 22).
There have been other assessments. Click on the "CFIUS" link in the topics list in the right column for more links.
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