Related Thought Leadership and Analysis
- President Trump Issues America First Investment Policy Refocusing CFIUS and Outbound Investment Approach
by: Christian C. Davis, Katherine Penberthy Padgett, Laura Black, John W. Babcock, Laura M. Driscoll
This memorandum directs the U.S. government to use all necessary legal instruments, including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to restrict PRC-affiliated persons from investing in U.S. technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy, raw materials, or other strategic sectors. Agencies are directed to create an expedited “fast-track” process to facilitate greater investment from specified allied and partner sources in U.S. businesses involved with U.S. advanced technology and other important areas. It requires expedited environmental reviews for any investment over $1 billion in the United States. Additionally, the memorandum directs mitigation agreements to consist of concrete actions that companies can complete within a specific time, rather than perpetual and expensive compliance obligations. It also states that more resources will be directed at facilitating investments from key partner countries.
The memorandum also states that restrictions on foreign investors’ access to U.S. assets will ease in proportion to their verifiable distance and independence from the predatory investment and technology-acquisition practices of the PRC and other foreign adversaries or threat actors. The U.S. government will continue to encourage passive investments from all foreign persons, in the form of non-controlling stakes and shares with no voting, board, or other governance rights and that do not confer any managerial influence, substantive decision-making, or non-public access to technologies or technical information, products, or services.
The U.S. government is also directed to use all necessary legal instruments to further deter United States persons from investing in the PRC’s military-industrial sector, and consider new or expanded restrictions on United States outbound investment in the PRC in sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, hypersonics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, directed energy, and other areas implicated by the PRC’s national Military-Civil Fusion strategy.
