Title: OPEN INVESTMENT
1OPEN INVESTMENT and the Committee on Foreign
Investment in the United State (CFIUS)
2- Foreign Direct Investment
- In the United States
3The United States is a Staunch Supporter of Open
Investment
The United States unequivocally supports
international investment in this country and is
equally committed to securing fair, equitable,
and nondiscriminatory treatment for U.S.
investors abroad - President George W.
Bush May 10, 2007
- Foreign Direct Investment into the United States
- Equals 15 of U.S. GDP (1.9 trillion stock in
2005) - Employs 4.5 of U.S. private sector (5.1 million
in 2005) - - provides for 4.6 million additional U.S. jobs
indirectly - Pays 30 higher compensation than the U.S.
average - Generates 13 of RD spending (30 billion)
- Accounts for 19 of U.S. exports (153.9 billion)
4FDI in the U.S. Committed to a Level Playing
Field
- Non-discrimination Committed to national
treatment and most-favored-nation treatment
across nearly the entire economy - Transparency Administrative Procedures Act
provides for notice comment on proposed
regulations and publication of final regulations - Administrative-judicial process Efficient,
predictable, and transparent
5FDI in the U.S. Key Legal Prohibitions
Exceptions to U.S. nondiscriminatory treatment of
FDI are few, transparently disclosed, and
generally cannot be expanded, per our trade
commitments
- Energy Prohibition on licenses for nuclear
energy enrichment operations - Communications 25 foreign equity cap for
broadcast, common carrier, and radio licenses - Air Carriers 25 foreign equity cap
- Maritime Transport No majority share in US
vessels 25 foreign equity cap for coastal
shipping companies
Also Several exceptions to U.S. WTO commitments
for state-level measures, but these apply only
to purely intra-state commerce
6FDI in the U.S. Non-Discriminatory Business
Regulations
- Doing business Both foreign-owned domestic
businesses are subject to nondiscriminatory
federal regulations, depending on their
activities/sector - Key regulatory clearances that are relevant to
FDI transactions - Antitrust DOJ and FTC conduct 30-day reviews of
large mergers - Securities SEC requires disclosure of
information about registered debt and equity, as
well as about public companies and their sale - Defense DOD issues facility security
clearances and, clears foreign acquisitions of US
firms with classified contracts - Cross-border flows Commerce State regulate
dual-use and military-use exports, and DHS
regulates imports and immigration visas - Communications FCC approves telecom mergers and
licenses - Financial Federal Reserve, OCC, SEC issue
bank/brokerage licenses and review mergers
impose non-discriminatory prudential regulations - Other sectoral clearances Depending on the
sector, other agencies may require licenses or
clearance, including DOT, DOE, FERC, etc.
7- U.S. Government Roles in
- Investment Policy
8Role of the Congress
- Congress addresses broad investment policy
issues - Trade Agreements Congress (1) sets negotiation
objectives and approves trade agreements with
other countries and (2) ratifies bilateral
investment treaties - Investment Review By statute, Congress
authorized the Executive Branch to conduct
reviews through CFIUS - Oversight Congress conducts oversight of
particular Executive Branch actions - Compliance with Free Trade Agreement objectives
- CFIUS reports to Congress on transactions only
after they have been reviewed
9Role of the Executive Branch
- The Executive Branch conducts U.S. trade policy
and implements trade investment laws enacted by
Congress - Trade Agreements Negotiates trade agreements
and investment treaties with other countries - Investment Reviews Conducts reviews of certain
foreign investment transactions to identify
national security concerns - Reports Reports to Congress on meeting trade
objectives and the results of concluded CFIUS
reviews
10- Committee on Foreign Investment
- in the United States (CFIUS)
11CFIUS Purpose
- Review of foreign acquisitions of U.S.
businesses, to resolve any national security
risks - Limited to acquisitions that result in foreign
control - Does not consider U.S. national economic
interests - President alone has power to prohibit
transactions - CFIUS may recommend that President prohibit
- President has prohibited only one transaction (in
1990) - Foreign Investment National Security Act of
2007 (FINSA) - Signed into law July 26 becomes effective
October 24 - Amends 1988 Exon-Florio legislation under which
CFIUS operates - Maintains CFIUS fundamental open-investment
characteristics
12CFIUS Membership
- Eight Executive Departments
- Treasury Department (chair)
- State Department
- Commerce Department
- Defense Department
- Justice Department
- Homeland Security Department
- Energy Department
- Labor Department (ex-officio)
- Seven White House Agencies
- U.S. Trade Representative
- Office of Science Technology
- Office of Management Budget
- Council of Economic Advisors
- National Economic Council
- National Security Council
- DNI (ex-officio)
New member per FINSA
13CFIUS Overview of a Disciplined Process
- Selective CFIUS reviews less than 7 of MA
transactions in the U.S. involving a foreign
acquirer and a domestic target - Seeks to resolve any concerns, not prohibit
transactions - Only 16 of 113 cases in 2006 resulted in
mitigation agreements, most of which imposed only
minor burdens on the companies - Efficient Over 80 of transactions reviewed by
CFIUS are approved within 30 days, without any
requirements imposed - Narrow focus Reviews are limited to national
security risks posed by the specific transaction
not broader factors like national interest,
economic security, or industrial policy
14CFIUS Reviews Only Select Transactions
15CFIUS Efficient Process
- 7 cases in 2006 (6 of caseload)
- 2 cases in 2006 (1.8 of caseload)
- Neither transaction was prohibited
Transactions reviewed by CFIUS receive safe
harbor if CFIUS or the President takes no action
against them within the specified time limits
(with only limited exceptions, for certain
material misconduct by the filing parties)
16CFIUS Narrow Focus on National Security
- CFIUS considers only transaction-specific effects
on national security, not broader national
security policy or other priorities - 1988 law enumerates several national security
factors - FINSA enumerates additional national security
factors that CFIUS already considers when
relevant
- 1988 Exon Florio statute
- Domestic production and capability for projected
defense needs - Capability of U.S. to meet national security
needs - Sale/diversion of military technology to certain
countries - U.S. technology leadership in areas affecting
national security
- FINSA adds
- Security-related impact on critical
infrastructure/technology - Greater emphasis on foreign-government control
- Whether acquisition by SOE poses risk, given
states record on nonproliferation,
counter-terrorism, technology diversion - Impact on long-term energy/ critical resources
needs
17FINSA Improves CFIUS Process While Maintaining
its Open Investment Orientation
- Maintains CFIUS fundamental open-investment
orientation - Maintains very selective focus on cases that
raise genuine national security issues (with no
mandatory filing) - Formalizes current practice of seeking to resolve
concerns, rather than prohibit transactions - Maintains current strict deadlines for CFIUS and
Presidential action - Reaffirms Congressional trust in CFIUS
- No reporting to Congress is required until after
a case is concluded - And Congress is subject to confidentiality laws
- Significant post-decisional and annual reports to
Congress - Improves high-level accountability
- Deputy Secretary must sign off on closure of any
second-stage investigation, all cases involving
foreign government control, and certain cases
involving critical infrastructure - Assistant Secretary must sign off on closure of
all other cases - Treasury Department and any lead agency it
appoints for a case have formal accountability to
Congress
18FINSA Key Dates
- July 26, 2007
- October 23, 2007
- October 24, 2007
- April 22, 2008
- April 22, 2008
- President signs FINSA into law
- Treasury hosts public meeting to seek comments on
CFIUS process - FINSA becomes effective
- Final regulations must be published
- Guidance must be published on the types of cases
that have raised national security considerations
19CFIUS Foreign Government Control
- Foreign government control requires higher-level
accountability - 1988 law and FINSA both require 2nd-stage
investigation of such cases unless CFIUS
affirmatively determines there are no national
security concerns - FINSA requires Deputy Secretary to close out such
cases, whereas Assistant Secretary closes out
other cases - CFIUS clears vast majority of foreign
government-control cases - 157 transactions reviewed since 1992 (14 of
CFIUS caseload) - 20 included mitigation agreements (13)
- 11 proceeded to investigation (7)
-
-
20CFIUS Companies Best Practices
- Prefiling Providing information to CFIUS before
filing a formal notice, to ensure that the notice
is complete - Stakeholder briefing Increasingly discussing
potentially controversial transactions with
Congress - Business purpose Demonstrating that the
transaction is driven by a commercial rationale - Problem-solving mentality Seeking to address
national security concerns proactively