Five U.S. Senators have written a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent requesting a detailed update on the outbound investment screening program. A Presidentially ordered review of the program, complete with recommendations for changes, was due on April 1, and the Senators want answers.
Last week, the Senate passed an amendment to the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act that addresses outbound investments in China and other matters. The bill, which we covered back in March, is one of many efforts to strengthen and enshrine the outbound investment security program.
A law in the state of Arkansas, which becomes effective this week, would force state investment entities to divest from China, and would ban future investment there. The move follows similar outbound investment proposals in Florida, South Dakota, Indiana, and others. Details, context inside.
The Outbound Investment Security Program is now effective, but don’t get too attached to it. According to a Presidential trade memorandum released in January, the Trump administration is now reviewing the outbound regime and other policies to determine whether they should be “modified or rescinded.”
Last week, the European Commission urged its member states to scrutinize outbound investments in non-EU countries, and to do so for the same technologies impacted by the U.S. outbound regime: semiconductors, quantum and AI. Details and related EU documents are inside.
Right before the holidays, the Treasury Department published answers to thirty questions about the outbound investment security program. The document provides helpful examples of covered transactions, and was supplemented by a number of notification templates. Details, documents inside.
Right before Thanksgiving, we learned what was on the agenda for Treasury’s Outbound conference on December 9. According to Treasury officials, the half-day event will be heavy on discussions about operationalization and implementation, with lots of Q&A. Sounds good, but registration closes soon…
An expert on national security has proposed an alternative to an outbound foreign investment review regime: Offer tax abatements to U.S. capital in China that repatriates to the U.S. and deploys elsewhere. The tax incentives would be tied to foreign policy and national security goals.
According to publicly available data confirmed by industry experts, the Treasury Department’s outbound investment proposal has been filed with the Office and Management and Budget. That means the proposed rule is likely in its final stages, and could be published soon. More inside.
At a House Financial Services Committee hearing on outbound, experts stated that Biden’s E.O. would create a “cumbersome and unnecessary bureaucratic process,” and that outbound investment authorities “should not be located within CFIUS.” Details, insights, and copies of the testimony are inside.
Leaders of The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party have offered Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen implementation recommendations on the outbound Executive Order. Experts say it represents a broader or “maximalist” approach to regulating outbound investment. Details inside.
The vast majority of venture capital firms say they will not be impacted much by the Treasury’s proposed rule on outbound investment. That’s according to our latest survey; only 16 percent of respondents said they would be impacted “significantly” by the proposal. Details inside.
Much has been made of the fact that the Treasury Department’s proposed rule focuses exclusively on China. But that’s not the full story. In fact, the proposal could impact investments in any country, even the U.S., under certain circumstances. Details, examples of possible scenarios, and insights inside.
Okay, let’s not beat a dead horse. The E.O. has been released, and Treasury is seeking comment on their implementing rule, which likely won’t be finalized until next year. We know. But experts clarify that some of the provisions may be effective immediately. Details and insights are inside.
Just a few hours after President Biden issued the Executive Order on outbound investment in China, the Treasury Department unveiled its “Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking,” and began soliciting feedback. Details, key questions, and instructions for commenting are inside.
In our latest edition of “Ten With Tom,” the former head of CFIUS provides his thoughts on the Committee’s 2022 report to Congress, and on the President’s Executive Order on outbound investment. Whatever you do: Don’t call it “reverse CFIUS.” Details and insights inside.
Last year, our readers predicted that the Biden administration would issue an Executive Order on outbound investment before summer 2023. Wow, were they close. The E.O. was released this afternoon, and, as anticipated, will ban investments in certain Chinese technologies. Detail, E.O. inside.
Setting aside the new Executive Order on outbound foreign investment, the U.S. Senate has approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act to add mandatory notification of certain investments in adversarial nations such as China. Details and the amendment are inside.
In our latest episode of “Ten With Tom,” former Treasury Department Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Thomas Feddo — now founder of The Rubicon Advisors — discusses why an Executive Order is the wrong approach, and explores some alternatives to an E.O.
We’ve got a live outbound case study, folks. Last week, Moderna inked a deal to invest $1 billion in mRNA research and development in China. So, would that deal have triggered outbound scrutiny — and increased deal friction — were an outbound review regime in place? Expert insights inside.