Kevin Wolf Quoted in Washington Internet Daily on New Telecom Merger Review Process

Washington Internet Daily has quoted Akin Gump international trade partner Kevin Wolf in “FCC, Executive Branch Said Eying Team Telecom Process Changes as Concerns Grow,” an article that addresses the government’s review process for proposed foreign takeovers of U.S. communications assets. Some of the potential changes, the article reports, are being driven by political pressure to address national security issues involving Chinese telecom equipment makers.

One proposal, according to the article, is a bill that would expand the purview of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to include reviews of non-passive foreign investment in a U.S. “critical technology company” or U.S. “critical infrastructure company.” While some say the bill is vague, Wolf said he hasn’t heard anyone object to its “policy objective of enhancing our national security given emerging threats from countries of concern and the evolution of dual-use technologies.”

Continuing, Wolf noted that even with a “small expansion in the scope of CFIUS’s review authority,” some companies “may be less willing to invest in the United States with the actual or perceived extra burden and time involved in closing a transaction, particularly if there is not a significant expansion in CFIUS staff and aggressive compliance with deadlines.”