Trade Matters - October 2022

1. New CFIUS E.O. Requires Attention of Foreign Investors

On September 15, President Biden issued the first ever executive order (E.O.) regarding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). While the E.O. does not change the law or regulations related to CFIUS reviews, the E.O. notifies the public that CFIUS will review transactions more broadly than in the past. Parties to covered transactions can no longer rely on prior CFIUS decisions to predict future actions. Because CFIUS exercises broad authority to determine national security vulnerabilities, businesses will need to consider how a particular transaction impacts supply chain security, taking into account the characteristics of the specific industry and previous foreign investment in that industry. Given the increase in CFIUS investigations of transactions where the parties did not notify the Committee, we expect more voluntary filings as a result of the E.O. Analyzing the national