On May 23, 2025, 10 days after President Trump announced his directive to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria during his visit to Saudia Arabia last month, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control...more
6/12/2025
/ Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CAATSA ,
CFIUS ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
International Trade ,
Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Reform ,
SDN List ,
Syria ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury ,
UK
On February 21, 2025, President Trump published a National Security Presidential Memorandum outlining his administration’s views on foreign investment and substantial changes to current regulatory regimes. The...more
2/26/2025
/ America First Trade Policy ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Compliance ,
Economic Sanctions ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Policy ,
National Security ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Russia ,
Trump Administration
On January 13, 2025, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) published an Interim Final Rule (IFR) that expands controls on advanced computing integrated circuits (ICs or chips) and model weights...more
2/5/2025
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Data Centers ,
Data Security ,
ECCNs ,
Export Administration Regulations (EAR) ,
Export Controls ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Semiconductors ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration
On July 23, 2024, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress covering calendar year 2023. In a year that featured lower deal volume, CFIUS...more
On June 24, 2024, the Commerce Department published a Final Determination under its Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) authorities. The determination prohibits the Russian-controlled cybersecurity...more
7/16/2024
/ CFIUS ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Covered Transactions ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Executive Orders ,
FCC ,
Foreign Adversaries ,
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ,
Information Systems Security Program (ISSP) ,
National Security ,
Risk Assessment ,
Russia ,
Software ,
U.S. Commerce Department
On June 21, 2024, the Biden administration rolled out its outbound investment screening regulations. Last year, the Biden administration published an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) that outlined the broad...more
7/11/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Covered Transactions ,
Due Diligence ,
Equity Investors ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Information Technology ,
International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) ,
Investment ,
Popular ,
Screening Procedures ,
U.S. Treasury
On May 13, 2024, President Biden issued an Executive Order requiring MineOne Partners Limited and its affiliates (together, “MineOne”) to divest their interest in real property located less than one mile from Francis E....more
On April 11, 2024, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) unveiled updates to its regulations that sharpen CFIUS’s processes and enforcement authorities. Together with remarks by U.S. government...more
M&A activity in 2023 was subdued, as dealmakers grappled with geopolitical tensions, inflation, rising interest rates, and increasing regulatory scrutiny, against a backdrop of general economic uncertainty. Challenges in the...more
1/4/2024
/ Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Big Tech ,
California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) ,
CFIUS ,
Data Security ,
Economic Sanctions ,
EU ,
Export Controls ,
Foreign Investment ,
Foreign Subsidies ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Shareholder Activism ,
State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) ,
UK ,
Vertical Mergers
Singapore has joined the trend of countries exercising greater oversight over investments in domestic entities in strategically important sectors. The Significant Investments Review Act (the “Bill”), introduced on November 3,...more
In July 2023, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS or the “Committee”) released its Annual Report to Congress covering calendar year 2022. Although the Report’s data lags a bit, given we are eight...more
On May 4, 2023, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) published a proposed rule that would update CFIUS’s current real estate-specific regulations to add eight military installations. Broadly,...more
On May 4, 2023, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) published a proposed rule that would update CFIUS’s current real estate-specific regulations to add eight military installations. Broadly,...more
As the UK’s investment screening regime starts to bed down following over a year of being in effect, we have been tracking the developments in the last quarter relevant to the operation of the regime. It has been a tumultuous...more
5/1/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
BEIS ,
CFIUS ,
Collaboration ,
Cybersecurity ,
Foreign Investment ,
Investors ,
Minerals ,
National Security ,
Popular ,
Telecommunications ,
UK
In what likely portends enforcement actions in the near future, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published its first ever CFIUS Enforcement and Penalty Guidelines (the “Guidelines”)....more
Last month, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) released its Annual Report to Congress covering 2021. The key takeaway is that CFIUS is more active than ever, subjecting a record number of...more
9/15/2022
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Corporate Counsel ,
FIRRMA ,
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) ,
Foreign Direct Investment ,
Foreign Investment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mitigation ,
National Security ,
Written Notice
Those who have been waiting to see how exactly the United States Department of Commerce will distinguish and ultimately control “emerging” and “foundational” technologies may not get an answer after all....more
Revised draft legislation circulated June 13th is the most recent salvo in a long-running effort that is increasingly likely to create an unprecedented outbound investment review mechanism in the United States. ...more
6/17/2022
/ CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Foreign Entities ,
Foreign Investment ,
National Security ,
Russia ,
Trade Representatives ,
Written Notice
2021 M&A smashed U.S. and global records. The year saw the arrival of a new U.S. administration, the release of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as continued questions regarding the impact of the pandemic, including the year-end...more
1/21/2022
/ Acquisition Agreements ,
Acquisitions ,
Antitrust Division ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cross-Border Transactions ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Digital Services ,
EU ,
Excise Tax ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Global Market ,
Horizontal Mergers ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
National Security ,
NYSE ,
PIPEs ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
REIT ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
UK ,
Universal Proxy Cards ,
Vertical Mergers
AI and machine learning technologies remain a focus of the U.S. government’s national security apparatus. AI is a key sector in the Unites States’ race against China to remain at the forefront in the development and...more
As close observers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or “Committee”) are aware, the Committee has the authority to recommend that the President of the United States block a transaction on...more
On July 26, 2021, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) released its unclassified Annual Report to Congress for the 2020 calendar year. The Annual Report provides statistics and insights into the...more
On April 8, 2021, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Senator Robert Menendez (D-New Jersey), and the Committee’s ranking member, Jim Risch (R-Idaho), introduced the Strategic Competition Act of 2021 (the “Act”...more
On March 22, 2021, the Department of Commerce (“Commerce”) interim final rule to implement provisions of Executive Order 13873 on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services (ICTS) Supply Chain became...more
4/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
CFIUS ,
China ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Electronic Communications ,
Executive Orders ,
Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) ,
Foreign Investment ,
Imports ,
Interim Final Rules (IFR) ,
Internet ,
Market-Sharing ,
NDAA ,
Networks ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Software ,
Supply Chain ,
Technology Sector ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Commerce Department
2020 brought the COVID-19 pandemic and other headline-grabbing challenges, along with “the usual” quadrennial questions around the U.S. election. Early in the year, businesses and dealmakers focused on the pandemic and...more
1/15/2021
/ Antitrust Division ,
CFIUS ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Due Diligence ,
Economic Stimulus ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU Horizontal Safeguard Regulation (HSR) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Human Rights ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Loans ,
Material Adverse Events ,
Poison Pill ,
Popular ,
Private Equity ,
Remote Working ,
Representations and Warranties ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)