Press Releases

The Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions, led by Subcommittee Chair Warren Davidson (OH-08), held a hearing to highlight how the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) balances national security safeguards while maintaining an open investment environment. 

On the importance of CFIUS:

"CFIUS plays a vital role in protecting our national security by scrutinizing foreign investments that could potentially threaten it. At the same time, it is essential that we maintain an open investment environment that allows the United States to benefit from foreign capital investment and innovation," said Subcommittee Chair Davidson. 

"Foreign direct investment has been a key part of making America one of the greatest countries in the world, and it has ensured that Americans remain employed and FDI related employments in the United States is really highest in the state of California with 15% related to that,” said Rep. Young Kim (CA-40).

On the course correction of the Nippon Steel decision:

"Nippon-Steel is a company, a very technologically advanced steel company, domiciled by an ally nation, Japan. This was an investment that was providing competition and preventing a monopoly in the United States on steelmaking. It strengthened U.S. Steel and enhanced U.S. national security. So, the fact that CFIUS did a re-review away from politics, made the correct recommendation, and then the president took the career advice of CFIUS was a rectification of a politicization in the previous administration,” said Rep. Andy Barr (KY-06).

On the harm of the Biden-era Outbound Investment Rule:

"As the global economy becomes more competitive, especially in advanced technologies like AI and semiconductors, American investors are trying to position the capital where it matters most. Under the Biden Administration's Outbound Investment Rule, U.S. firms are now required to self-determine if a transaction might raise national security concerns without clear guidance or a published list of restricted entities. This creates legal uncertainty, compliance risk, and it could drive up the cost of doing business abroad,” said Rep. Roger Williams (TX-25).

Witnesses echoed their support for the work of the Committee.

Jonathan Samford, President and Chief Executive Officer, Global Business Alliance, said: “As you may know, international companies like these have invested over $5 trillion into the U.S. economy, directly employ 8.4 million U.S. workers and offer compensation that is seven percent higher than the U.S. private-sector average. The average compensation at an international company in America is $89,300. In addition, nearly 1-in-4 of America’s manufacturing workers earn their paycheck from an international company – that is a company that made a deliberate decision to invest and create jobs in the United States. Not only do international companies bring the capital necessary to create these opportunities, but they also import world-class know-how, which helps drive American innovation and a more competitive U.S. workforce. …America’s global economic leadership is grounded in its openness, reliability, and adherence to the rule of law. A security-focused CFIUS process that welcomes trusted capital fuels innovation, manufacturing, and job growth, aligning national security with economic competitiveness.”

Brian Reissaus, Senior Advisor for National Security, Freshfields US LLP, said: “CFIUS serves as a critical safeguard against foreign investment that poses a genuine threat to our national security. CFIUS does this through its singular focus on reviewing transactions for cognizable national security risks that could reasonably result from the transaction under review. …As Congress did when it crafted and passed FIRRMA, any changes to U.S. investment security policy should go through a similarly rigorous process that: (1) is based on facts and on evidence of a defined national security risk; and (2) assesses the impact such changes will have on investment that does not pose a risk to U.S. national security. That process for FIRRMA involved hundreds of meetings with affected stakeholders to carefully draft each provision. In particular, the Outbound Investment Security Program could benefit from such a process. As currently structured, the regulations pose ambiguities that complicate compliance. Better alignment between the national security risks that the Outbound Investment Security Program is intended to solve and the definitions defining the scope of “covered transactions” would provide much needed clarity to the private sector.”

Benjamin Joseloff, Partner, Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, said: “The United States of America has long been known as one of the most welcoming economies for foreign direct investment. This is in large part because the U.S. Government, through administrations of both parties, has recognized the benefits that come with foreign capital. …For this reason, it has been a bipartisan tradition of each U.S. president since Jimmy Carter to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to an open investment environment. President Trump most recently did so in February 2025, when he issued an investment policy memorandum that stated “[o]ur Nation is committed to maintaining the strong, open investment environment that benefits our economy and our people….” But not all foreign investment is benign. Malign actors can—and do—try to take advantage of our general openness by using foreign investment to harm U.S. national and economic security. Thus, the United States has had, for fifty years, a mechanism to address harmful foreign direct investment—the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS. …I believe that the Members of this Subcommittee will be well placed to ensure that we continue to have an inbound investment security regime that supports both American security and American prosperity, and that CFIUS will continue to be regarded as the global “gold standard” for the national security regulation of foreign investment.”