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The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS, commonly pronounced "sifius") is an inter-agency committee of the United States Government that reviews the national security implications of foreign investments of U.S. companies or operations. Chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, CFIUS includes representatives from 16 U.S. departments and agencies, including the Defense, State and Commerce departments, as well as (most recently) the Department of Homeland Security. CFIUS was established by Gerald Ford's Executive Order 11858 in 1975. The committee gained additional authority after Ronald Reagan delegated Presidential oversight to CFIUS by his Executive Order 12661 in 1988. This was in response to U.S. Congress giving authority to the President to review foreign investments, in the form of Exon-Florio Amendment.

Process

Companies proposing to be involved in an acquisition by a foreign firm are supposed to voluntarily notify CFIUS, but CFIUS can review transactions that are not voluntarily submitted.

CFIUS reviews begin with a 30-day decision to authorize a transaction or begin a statutory investigation. If the latter is chosen, the committee has another 45 days to decide whether to permit the acquisition or order divestment. Most transactions submitted to CFIUS are approved without the statutory investigation.^[1]

CFIUS has looked at the "restrictions on sale of advanced computers to any of a long list of foreign recipients, ranging from China to Iran."^[2] CFIUS reviews even deals with firms from U.S. allies, such as BAE Systems' early-2005 acquisition of United Defense. This and the vast majority of transactions submitted to CFIUS are approved without difficulty. But at least one deal has been called off when CFIUS began to take a closer look.^[3]

History

In 1975, President Ford created, by Executive Order, the Committee. In this order, he directed that the Secretary of the Treasury be the chairman of the Committee. The Executive Order also stipulated that the Committee would have “the primary continuing responsibility within the Executive Branch for monitoring the impact of foreign investment in the United States, both direct and portfolio, and for coordinating the implementation of United States policy on such investment.” In particular, CFIUS was directed to: (1) arrange for the preparation of analyses of trends and significant developments in foreign investments in the United States; (2) provide guidance on arrangements with foreign governments for advance consultations on prospective major foreign governmental investments in the United States; (3) review investments in the United States which, in the judgment of the Committee, might have major implications for United States national interests; and (4) consider proposals for new legislation or regulations relating to foreign investment as may appear necessary.^[4]

Three congressional bills have affected the way CFIUS operates: Exon-Florio Amendment, Byrd Amendment, and the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007.

Important cases

• The 2005 acquisition by Lenovo, the largest personal computer company in China, of IBM's personal computer and laptop unit
• State-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation's attempted acquisition of UNOCAL (2005)
• State-owned Dubai Ports World's planned acquisition of P&O, the operator of many US ports, including New York (2006)
• NTT Communications' acquisition of Verio (2000)
• The 2005 acquisition of Sequioa Voting Systems of Oakland, California, by Smartmatic, a Dutch company contracted by Hugo Chávez's government to replace that country's elections machinery^[5]

Notifications and Investigations

CFIUS Notifications and Investigations, 1988-2005^[6]

Opinions on the Committee

In February 2006, Richard Perle gave more insight into CFIUS when he related to CBS News his experience on the panel during the Reagan administration, "The committee almost never met, and when it deliberated it was usually at a fairly low bureaucratic level." He also added, "I think it's a bit of a joke if we were serious about scrutinizing foreign ownership and foreign control, particularly since 9/11."^[7]

Others emphasize the crucial role that foreign direct investment plays in the U.S. economy, and the discouraging effect that heightened scrutiny and protectionism can cause. Foreign investors in the United States, much like U.S. investors elsewhere, bring expertise and infusions of capital into often-struggling sectors of the U.S. economy. In a February 2006 interview with the New York Times, another former Reagan administration official, Clyde V. Prestowitz Jr., noted that the United States "need[s] a net inflow of capital of $3 billion a day to keep the economy afloat.... Yet all of the body language here is 'go away.'"^[8] And, as Secretary Powell once remarked, "money, capital, is a coward; it will go nowhere where it is put in fear."^[9]

See also

Exon-Florio Amendment‎

External links

• CFIUS page at US Treasury
• Rahul Prabhakar, "Deal-Breaker: FDI, CFIUS, and Congressional Response to State Ownership of Foreign Firms," SSRN Working Paper Series, 5/2009

References

1. ^ Sills, Gay Hartwell (2006). "Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS)". U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of the Assistant Secretary International Affairs, Office of International Investment. http://www.treas.gov/offices/international-affairs/exon-florio/. Retrieved 2006-03-26.  
2. ^ Rash, Wayne (2005-01-24). "Suppose IBM-Lenovo Deal Doesn't Happen". eWeek.com. http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1754093,00.asp.  
3. ^ McCarthy, Ellen (2006-03-24). "Purchase by Israeli Firm Called Off". Washington Post. p. A06. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/23/AR2006032302382.html.  
4. ^ Jackson, James K. (2008-04-08). "The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)". Congressional Research Service. pp. 3. http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33388_20080408.pdf. Retrieved 2009-01-02.  
5. ^ Voting Machine Company Submits to Inquiry - New York Times
6. ^ Graham, Edward M; David M. Marchick (May 2006). US National Security and Foreign Direct Investment. p. 57. ISBN 978-0-88132-391-7. http://www.petersoninstitute.org/publications/chapters_preview/3918/02iie3918.pdf.  
7. ^ "Bush, Congress In Dark About Port Deal". CBS News. 2006-02-22. http://cbs4denver.com/national/topstories_story_053102937.html.  
8. ^ Porter, Eduardo (2006-03-10). "Dubai Deal's Collapse Prompts Fears Abroad on Trade With U.S.". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/business/worldbusiness/10chill.html.   (free registration required to access content)
9. ^ Powell, Colin (2002-04-23). "Remarks at Sovereign Credit Rating Conference". United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/secretary/former/powell/remarks/2002/9634.htm.