EU Issues Report on New FDI, Export Control Regimes
The European Union released reports this week on its export control and foreign direct investment screening regimes, including statistics on investment clearances and export denials. The report is the first official, sweeping look into the EU’s new dual-use export control regime since it took effect in September (see 2109090007) and its FDI screening mechanism since it launched an updated FDI regime last year (see 1903210049).
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The European Commission said the EU has screened 400 investments since October 2020, with most involving deals in the manufacturing, information communications and technology, and wholesale sectors. The bloc said 80% of its investment investigations didn’t “justify further investigation and were thus assessed by the Commission in just 15 days,” adding that it issued an opinion in less than 3% of the 265 cases. The deals most often involved parties located in the U.S., the United Kingdom, China, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
The commission said its findings show that the EU hasn’t overly restricted incoming investments. “The FDI screening cooperation mechanism works effectively and does not create unnecessary delays for transactions,” it said Nov. 23.
The EU also received more than 30,000 export applications for goods with potential military uses and denied 603. Its report includes information on the top export destination for dual-use goods, information on authorized export volume by license type and more.
“The EU remains open to trade and foreign investment -- this is a pillar of our job creation and economic growth,” Executive Vice President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis said. “These two reports highlight how these tools can help the Commission and competent Member State authorities to act decisively when the situation demands, defending our interests while promoting our values.”