Donald Trump signs defence bill imposing tougher regulations on foreign investments – including China
The US president signed the bill on Monday, strengthening the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, which scrutinises foreign investments
US President Donald Trump on Monday signed into law a new defence appropriations bill that authorises tougher regulations on foreign investments in the US – including deals from China.
The US$716 billion John S. McCain National Defence Authorisation Act – which is named for the Arizona senator, who is battling brain cancer – broadens the command of a cross-agency unit that reviews foreign investments in the US for national security concerns.
Under the new law, the unit, known as the Committee of Foreign Investment in the US, or CFIUS, will have the authority to review a broader set of mergers and acquisitions by foreign buyers.
The law “significantly expands CFIUS’s jurisdictional ambit, and reflects the most comprehensive reform to CFIUS in its history”, Mario Mancuso, a senior member of George W. Bush’s national security team and author of A Dealmaker’s Guide to CFIUS, said on Monday.
Changes to the review process were originally introduced as a separate bill – the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernisation Act of 2018, also known as FIRRMA – in November 2017 by Republican Senator John Cornyn and Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein. It was later incorporated into the defence spending bill.
