New guidance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. could significantly curtail the use of “springing rights” deals, leading to “substantial challenges” and delays of certain investments, law firms said this month. Other new CFIUS guidance puts companies “on notice” that the committee will demand information on limited partners involved in a transaction, despite any previously made confidentiality agreements.
House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee Chairman Adrian Smith, R-Neb., and Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., introduced the Undertaking Negotiations on Investment and Trade for Economic Dynamism (United) Act, a bill that directs the administration to begin negotiations for a comprehensive free trade agreement within 180 days of passage.
A European Parliament committee is pushing for new rules that could allow the bloc to more quickly and efficiently seize sanctioned assets. The rules, approved as part of a draft position by the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee this week, would harmonize the authorities of individual European Union member states’ asset recovery offices to “make cross-border investigations more efficient” and increase information sharing, including on “beneficial ownership registries, securities and currency information, customs data and annual financial statements of companies,” the Parliament said in a May 23 press release. They also would close “loopholes” by “ensuring assets can be frozen quickly, with temporary urgency measures where necessary” and “crack down” on those evading asset seizures through help from a third party. Confiscated assets could also be used to compensate victims or put toward “social or public interest purposes.”
Republicans leaders this week criticized China's decision to ban certain sales from U.S. chip company Micron (see 2305220053), saying the move was politically driven and lacked evidence.
The State Department needs to answer for media reports that it “held back” human rights sanctions and export controls on China following the U.S. discovery of a Chinese reconnaissance balloon in American airspace earlier this year (see 2302100072), said Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas. McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, cited a recent Reuters report that said the State Department was trying to “limit damage to the U.S.-China relationship” and pushed back on new trade restrictions.
The U.S. should impose a range of new sanctions and other restrictions on Chinese companies with ties to human rights violations in the Xinjiang region, including by imposing financial sanctions on companies on the Entity List and introducing outbound investment restrictions, the House Select Committee on China said this week. The committee also said the U.S. and its allies need to better coordinate on a potential sanctions response -- and be ready to deploy those measures -- if China invades Taiwan.
The State Department is working on a new trade authorization that would expedite technology transfers among the U.S., the U.K. and Australia, said Jessica Lewis, assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs. Lewis, testifying before the House Foreign Affairs Committee May 24, said she’s also open to legislation that could reduce export licensing burdens, especially as part of the Australia-U.K.-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership.
The Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act, a follow-up bill to OSRA from original co-sponsors Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., and Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., passed 58-1 out of the House Transportation Committee May 23.
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Singapore-based Foxconn Ventures, an affiliate of Taiwan-based technology firm Hon Hai Technology Group, recently received U.S. clearance to acquire American electric vehicle equipment manufacturer Lordstown Motors, Squire Patton said in a May 8 post. The parties received clearance from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. April 25, the law firm said. The purchase was valued at about $50 million.