Christian Davis Quoted by Bloomberg on Legislation to Strengthen CFIUS

Christian Davis, international trade partner at Akin Gump, was quoted in the Bloomberg Law article “China Could Be ‘Blacklisted’ Under Foreign Investment Bill,” which reports on legislation that would give expanded powers to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). If passed and signed into law, CFIUS would be authorized to look at more types of deals than it does now, including those in which a “foreign person” would gain access to critical U.S. technologies or infrastructure.

According to the article, the final language of the bill directs CFIUS to define which foreign persons or countries would get special scrutiny, a regulatory process that could result in a “black list.” Lawmakers and the administration have been particularly worried about investments from China.

Differences over the specification of countries were a key sticking point going into the House-Senate conference process, said Davis. A blacklist of countries, along the lines of what the House proposed, is still possible under the compromise bill, he pointed out, adding that “CFIUS will have discretion to make that determination.”