U.S. Outlines Plans to Scrutinize Chinese and Other Foreign Investment

Mark Plotkin spoke with The New York Times about U.S. Treasury’s announcement that it will introduce new regulations expanding the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) to further scrutinize foreign investments involving sensitive technology, infrastructure, personal data, and real estate.

Mr. Plotkin said that the proposed rules were relatively restrained and that they would be helpful for foreign investors by offering clarity about what kinds of deals are likely to be allowed. He noted One provision likely to generate significant interest was an exemption from some of the rules for investors from certain countries. The Treasury Department did not list which countries might be on such a list, but the possibility that investments from certain countries would get more scrutiny than others could set off complaints that the review system is biased against American adversaries. “There is a lot of diplomatic and political considerations that CFIUS will have to weigh in making that analysis.”