The U.S. will likely continue to update the regulations for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which has created some complications for industry, trade lawyers told the American Bar Association April 15. The recently revised regulations have also severely reduced incoming Chinese investments, which could have long-term implications, one lawyer said.
The Bureau of Industry and Security's decision to eliminate certain reporting requirements for encryption items (see 2103260019) should exempt a greater number of companies from filing mandatory declarations with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., DLA Piper said in an April 6 post.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for March 29-April 2 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
A Delaware financial management company said it received approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to merge with another Delaware investment management company, according to its March 25 Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Waddell & Reed Financial said it filed a voluntary notice to CFIUS on Jan. 28 regarding its planned merger with Macquarie Management Holdings. After a 45-day review period, CFIUS said March 22 that there were “no unresolved national security concerns with respect to the merger and its review” was completed, Waddell & Reed said. While CFIUS clearance “satisfies a certain condition to the closing of the merger,” the company added that other conditions still need to be met before the merger is completed.
Three Sheppard Mullin lawyers, across two continents, say the outcome of the new aggressive stance against China's rising technological manufacturing sector is yet to be seen, but that they don't expect the Biden administration to back away from the most significant export control actions taken under President Donald Trump.
U.S. measures to expand foreign investment screening are having an increasingly chilling impact on Chinese companies’ willingness to invest in the U.S., said Jingyuan Shi, a media and technology lawyer with Simmons & Simmons. As the Biden administration continues to implement its China strategy, including its administration of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., some Chinese technology companies “are adopting a wait-and-see attitude,” especially amid the U.S.-China “trade tension atmosphere,” Shi said during a March 24 webinar hosted by the law firm.
Two Canadian companies recently announced plans to acquire U.S. businesses and are awaiting approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., according to their Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The filings were previously reported by Squire Patton.
Export Compliance Daily is providing readers with the top stories for March 15-19 in case you missed them. You can find any article by searching on the title or by clicking on the hyperlinked reference number.
Companies will continue to see a rise in global scrutiny of foreign direct investments as European countries try to match the U.S.’s investment screening regime, which has set the standard for investment reviews, trade lawyers said. Several countries, including the United Kingdom and Germany, are quickly bolstering their regimes while the U.S. is continuing to expand its jurisdiction to keep China and sanctioned countries from acquiring critical technologies, the lawyers said.
The U.S. needs to immediately modernize export controls and foreign investment screening mechanisms to counter Chinese technology advancement, a U.S. commission told Congress. The members of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, building off a report it released earlier this month, told lawmakers March 12 that the U.S. is in danger of ceding technology leadership over artificial intelligence if it doesn’t devote more resources to innovation and create a clearer national technology strategy.