Trump Administration Cracking Down On Foreign Tech Funding

The Trump administration has revealed tougher rules for foreigners who want to invest in U.S. businesses that rely on sensitive technology, infrastructure and data.

Treasury Department officials are getting set to implement the law passed by Congress last year that will expand the scope of national-security reviews of foreign investment deals, including those involving satellites, oil refineries, financial-market systems and drinking water utilities.

The law gives more power to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

“Today’s proposed regulations will provide clarity and certainty to investors regarding CFIUS’s enhanced authorities to address national security risks that arise from certain foreign investments,” Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement Tuesday (Sept. 17), according to the Wall Street Journal

There has yet to be a decision on whether investments from certain countries will face tougher review. Treasury officials also released a list of U.S. military bases, airports and maritime ports where nearby foreign investment could come under tighter scrutiny.

“The Trump administration and Congress worked together in a bipartisan manner,” a senior Treasury official said, “recognizing that some vulnerabilities could be exploited through transactions that fell outside of CFIUS’s traditional control and jurisdiction.”

But not everyone is in support of the changes. Industry officials have warned that the new regulations could overwhelm Treasury staff, which could see more than 1,000 filings a year as a result. To prepare for the surge, Treasury official have hired more than two dozen people.

“The Committee is clearly evolving to focus on current and next-generation national security concerns, including as they relate U.S. companies’ technological leadership and access to U.S. citizens’ data,” said Washington lawyer John Kabealo, who has handled more than 100 CFIUS filings since 2011, to the newspaper.

The deadline for the Treasury Department to implement the new rules is Feb. 13, 2020.