The Treasury Department on January 13 released two final regulations implementing changes that the 2018 Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA) made to the jurisdiction and processes of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The new regulations, which became effective on February 13, broaden CFIUS’s authority to review and to take action to address national security concerns arising from certain non-controlling investments and real estate transactions that were previously outside CFIUS’s jurisdiction. Each of the two regulations also includes a definition of “principal place of business” as an interim rule.
The types of non-controlling investments covered by the new regulations are those that afford a foreign person certain access to information in the possession of, rights in, or involvement in the substantive decision making of certain U.S. businesses related to critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data. The regulations regarding real estate apply to transactions affording a foreign person at least three of the following property rights: to physically access; to exclude; to improve or develop; or, to affix structures or objects. Covered sites are areas in and around specific airports, maritime ports, and military installations. The regulations are similar to the proposed rules the Treasury Department published in September.
For more information on how these could impact your business, contact:
- Justin Cawley, Senior Counsel (jcawley@mcginnislaw.com, 202-812-2644),
- Martin Lutz, Partner (mlutz@mcginnislaw.com, 512-495-6024),
- Lindsey Roskopf, Attorney (lroskopf@mcginnislaw.com, 713-615-8534), or
- Another member of the McGinnis Lochridge International Trade and Transactions Practice Group