The Trump administration's executive order last month to unwind the years-old purchase of audiovisual technology equipment supplier Jupiter Systems by China-based Suirui Group (see 2507100058) is the latest sign that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. is digging far back to find transactions that could hurt U.S. national security, ArentFox said Aug. 7 in a client alert.
The U.S. should persuade other countries to limit Chinese investments in critical mineral industries, similar to restrictions overseen by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., the Commerce Department’s Environmental Technologies Trade Advisory Committee said in a recent letter to Secretary Howard Lutnick.
The new U.S. outbound investment regulations appear so far to be blunting American investments in sensitive Chinese technology sectors, even for investments that only require a notification to the Treasury Department, law firm Sidley Austin said in a client alert this month.
The Trump administration plans to take several steps to address foreign ownership of American farmland, including pursuing congressional and state legislation and executive action to ban purchases by China and other foreign “adversaries,” USDA announced July 8.
Recent Japanese regulatory reforms and increased enforcement could signal a more "assertive stance” around foreign investment screening, Freshfields said in a client alert last week. The trend in Japan appears to mirror developments with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which “has become increasingly assertive in reviewing foreign direct investment.”
President Donald Trump signed an executive order June 19 giving China’s ByteDance an additional 90 days, or until Sept. 17, to find a buyer for TikTok or face a U.S. ban on the popular social media application.
Representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission officially began negotiations June 17 on updated foreign direct investment screening rules with the aim of reaching a political agreement on a final text. The talks started days after EU member state representatives finalized their negotiating position (see 2506120057) and a month after the parliament approved the updates (see 2505090020), which would add more sectors to the scope of FDI restriction, allow the European Commission to intervene in member state disagreements and more. The EU didn't provide a timeline for when talks are expected to conclude.
The Trump administration released more details about the conditions for Japan-based Nippon Steel's purchase of U.S. Steel, which Trump said would result in a $14 billion investment in the U.S. economy while keeping the American company headquartered in the U.S. (see 2505230075).
Although the Trump administration is calling the recently announced deal between Japan-based Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel (see 2505290058) a "partnership," it’s still a traditional acquisition that includes a national security agreement with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., panelists said this week.
The United Steelworkers said May 28 that it remains uncertain what the recently announced “planned partnership” between Japan-based Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel will entail.