Timely Updates and Analysis on Key International Trade Law Issues
By: Thad McBride
As addressed in our September 27 blog, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was sued in U.S. District Court by Ralls Corp relating to the acquisition by Ralls of four Oregon companies whose assets consisted solely of windfarm development rights and to CFIUS’s determination to block the transaction.
On September 28, President Barack Obama did just that.
Continue Reading CFIUS Update: President Blocks Ralls Transaction
The U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would tap the brakes on foreign direct investment in the United States, particularly on investments in sensitive industries like artificial intelligence, robotics, and semiconductors. We know: you’re saying we already have that in the form of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (known as CFIUS). Continue Reading Seeking foreign investors for your tech startup? Congress says, “not so fast.”
In a stunning ruling issued on July 15, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) and the subsequent unwinding of the investment deprived the foreign investor of due process under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Ralls Corp. v. Comm. on Foreign Investment in the United States, No. 12-cv-01513 (D.C. Cir. Jul. 15, 2014) (a copy of the opinion is here). If upheld, the ruling may require fundamental changes in how CFIUS conducts its reviews and may enhance foreign investors’ ability to influence or challenge the outcome of a review.
In December 2013, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) released its annual report to Congress (the “Report”) covering transactions it reviewed in Calendar Year 2012. (Yes, Calendar Year 2012 – CFIUS takes its time publishing its annual reports.) CFIUS is the U.S. interagency government body that reviews acquisitions of U.S. businesses or substantial business assets by non-U.S. parties for national security considerations.
Continue Reading An Assessment of the CFIUS 2012 Annual Report
By: Reid Whitten
On February 25, 2013, the Chinese state oil company, CNOOC, closed a $15.1 billion deal to take over Canadian oil company, Nexen. Along with interests in the Canadian oil sands of Alberta and offshore production in west Africa and the North Sea, CNOOC will acquire more than 200 drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, a primary source of U.S. oil. According to Nexen, its existing assets in the area include facilities producing more than 15,000 barrels of oil per day in 2012, with notable exploration potential for future growth. Continue Reading Pay Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain: The Mysterious Methods to CFIUS Approval
By: Thad McBride
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) has been sued. CFIUS is the U.S. government inter-agency committee that reviews foreign investment in the United States. (For more information about CFIUS, including its operations and recent actions, please look here.)
According to a filing in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Ralls Corp is requesting a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction to enjoin CFIUS from prohibiting Ralls from developing and operating a wind farm in Oregon. Ralls is owned by executives of Sany Group Co., a Chinese company that, among other things, manufactures wind turbine generators. In recent years, CFIUS has tended to be especially cautious with respect to transactions involving China.
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