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Subcommittee Examines CFIUS

Washington, Mar 15 -

The Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade met today to evaluate the operations of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the challenges it faces by a changing global economy.

“Today’s hearing is the third time this Congress that the Subcommittee has publicly examined the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS,” said Subcommittee Chairman Andy Barr (R-KY). “As the Subcommittee continues to review CFIUS and begins to consider potential reforms, it is clear that we must improve our security review process to ensure that bad actors do not get American technology or information that can be used against us. At the same time, we must make certain that the CFIUS process does not create disincentives for foreign direct investment in the United States killing jobs and the much needed capital source for national security advancements.”

Key Takeaways

• Any changes to CFIUS should enhance its ability to protect national security, not contribute to mission creep or duplicative functions that undermine its effectiveness.

• It is essential that U.S. firms continue to have access to foreign investment in order to increase productivity and create jobs.

Topline Quotes from Witnesses

“…CFIUS and export controls are both vital and robust authorities the United States relies upon to protect our national security. As we strengthen both to meet current challenges, it is important that they remain complementary and not overlap unnecessarily, as that has the potential to overburden the CFIUS process and partially duplicate the more comprehensive coverage of technology transfer under the export control system.” – The Honorable Richard E. Ashooh, Assistant Secretary for Export Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce

“…CFIUS must be modernized. In doing so, we must preserve our longstanding open investment policy. At the same time, we must protect our national security from current, emerging, and future threats. The twin aims of maintaining an open investment climate and safeguarding national security are the exclusive concern of neither Republicans nor Democrats. Rather, they are truly American aims that transcend party lines and regional interests. But they demand urgent action if we are to achieve them.” – The Honorable Heath P. Tarbert, Assistant Secretary for International Markets and Investment Policy, U.S. Department of the Treasury

“Simply put, the United States military fights and wins wars through the unmatched performance of our men and women in uniform and our superior military technology. Knowing this, our competitors are aggressively attempting to diminish our technological advantage through a multi-faceted strategy by targeting and acquiring the very technologies that are critical to our military success now and in the future. China, in particular, publicly articulates its policy of civil-military integration, which ties into its intentions to become the world leader in science and technology and to modernize its military in part by strengthening the industrial base that supports it.” – Eric D. Chewning, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy, U.S. Department of Defense