CFIUS Authority Expanded Via FIRRMA Implementing Regulations

UPDATE:An annotated form of the full list of covered investment critical infrastructure and functions related to covered investment critical infrastructure as proposed by CFIUS that is referenced below is now available under the CFIUS Resources section of this blog.

On September 17, 2019, the US Department of the Treasury issued proposed regulations to implement the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA), the statute expanding the authorities of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). These regulations define the paradigm shift that we have anticipated since late last year (see, generally, our article summarizing FIRRMA). Since the passage of the Exon-Florio Amendment in 1988, CFIUS has extended its authority over acquisitions of control through an ever-expanding understanding of national security interests. FIRRMA shifts from that "control-based" test to now include sensitive business-based tests. While CFIUS