Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
    USA

    New CFIUS bills seen as move to thwart Chinese investment

    By Chen Weihua in Washington | China Daily | Updated: 2017-11-09 12:00
    Share
    Share - WeChat

    Experts expressed deep concern over bills introduced Wednesday by US lawmakers to expand the scrutiny of foreign investment in the United States, targeting in particular investors from China.

    The bills, known as the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), were introduced by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the Senate and House of Representatives.

    John Cornyn, a senator from Texas, introduced a bill to broaden the government's power to stop foreign purchases of US companies by strengthening the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).

    Robert Pittenger, a Republican congressman from North Carolina, introduced an identical bill in the House.

    "China is buying American companies at a breathtaking pace. While some are legitimate business investments, many others are part of a backdoor effort to compromise US national security," Pittenger said in a press release on Wednesday.

    "The introduction of the concept of the 'country of special concern' is likely to be a contentious point for US-China relations, as comments of the sponsors of this legislation have made it clear that the provision, and other features of the legislation, are targeted at Chinese acquisition in the United States," Scott Flicker, a partner at law firm Paul Hastings LLP, told China Daily on Wednesday.

    He expressed that the sponsors of the legislation include prominent members across the political spectrum. "This increases the likelihood some form of the legislation will pass and become law, although the timing is highly uncertain," Flicker said.

    In an article published last month, Flicker wrote "that CFIUS is growing more biased against Chinese deals".

    Ted Moran, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said that for more than four decades, the US has worked to widen access for trade and investment throughout industries in foreign markets, under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

    "This change would reverse direction, quite probably undermining much progress that has been made," he told China Daily on Wednesday.

    Moran expressed concern over whether FIRRMA would allow CFIUS to preclude foreign acquisitions by companies from certain countries across entire sectors, rather than evaluate national security threats within sectors.

    "The danger is that FIRRMA would follow the procedure introduced in the 2017 CFIUS rejection of the acquisition of Lattice Semiconductor by Canyon Bridge Partners, a Chinese private-equity firm with ties to the Chinese government," he said.

    On Sept 13, US President Donald Trump issued an executive order blocking the Lattice deal on national security grounds. The case marked the fourth time in 30 years that a US president has blocked a transaction out of security concerns. All four cases have involved Chinese investors.

    In its annual report to Congress published in September, CFIUS said Chinese deals made up 29 percent of the 143 transactions it reviewed in 2015, the highest number among all nations.

    The White House issued a justification for the rejection of the Lattice deal: "The national-security risk posed by the transaction relates to, among other things, the potential transfer of intellectual property to the foreign acquirer, the Chinese government's role in supporting the transaction, the importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity to the United States Government, and the use of Lattice products by the United States Government."

    "The reference to the 'importance of semiconductor supply chain integrity' is clearly a new and expansive rationale for a negative ruling by CFIUS," Moran said.

    He said the Trump administration may be taking a much broader and more protectionist approach toward foreign acquisitions, in particular Chinese acquisitions, than previous administrations, even without waiting for changes in CFIUS legislation.

    FIRRMA claims that CFIUS has not been substantially updated since the Ford administration of the 1970s. The new bills aim to expand CFIUS jurisdiction to include joint ventures, minority position investments, and real estate transactions near military bases and other sensitive national security facilities.

    It also updates CFIUS' definition of "critical technologies" to include emerging technologies that could be essential for maintaining the US technological advantage over countries that pose threats.

    In 2016, Chinese foreign direct investment in the US jumped to $46 billion, a 200 percent increase from the previous record in 2015, according to a report by New York-based Rhodium Group and the National Committee on US-China Relations.

    By the end of 2016, 425, or 98 percent, of the 435 US congressional districts in the US host Chinese companies. Chinese-owned companies directly employ 141,000 American workers. The numbers for indirect employment are estimated in the tens of thousands.

    US governors and mayors have shown great enthusiasm for wooing Chinese investors to boost local economies and create jobs. Many of them embark on regular investment and trade missions to China.

    chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

    (China Daily 11/09/2017 page3)

    Today's Top News

    Editor's picks

    Most Viewed

    Top
    BACK TO THE TOP
    English
    Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
    License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

    Registration Number: 130349
    FOLLOW US
    国色天香中文字幕在线视频| 亚洲精品无码专区久久久 | 乱人伦人妻中文字幕无码| 无码人妻精品一区二区三| 日本乱中文字幕系列| 精品无码久久久久久尤物| 熟妇人妻系列aⅴ无码专区友真希 熟妇人妻系列av无码一区二区 | 免费精品久久久久久中文字幕| 夜夜添无码试看一区二区三区| 久久中文字幕人妻熟av女| 无码人妻一区二区三区兔费 | 无码人妻精品一区二区在线视频| 亚洲久本草在线中文字幕| 亚洲AV永久无码精品一区二区国产 | 免费无码一区二区三区蜜桃 | 国产日韩精品中文字无码| 18禁无遮拦无码国产在线播放| 八戒理论片午影院无码爱恋| 日本一区二区三区精品中文字幕| 日韩AV无码不卡网站| 国产亚洲精久久久久久无码| 国产精品99久久久精品无码| 中文字幕一区二区三区久久网站 | 少妇极品熟妇人妻无码| 无码专区—VA亚洲V天堂| 一本本月无码-| 亚洲AV中文无码乱人伦在线视色| 中文亚洲AV片不卡在线观看| 国产办公室秘书无码精品99| 无码国产福利av私拍| 中文字幕无码日韩专区| 十八禁视频在线观看免费无码无遮挡骂过| 久久中文字幕一区二区| 99高清中文字幕在线 | 久久久91人妻无码精品蜜桃HD| 国产午夜精品无码| 国产精品无码一区二区三级| 狠狠躁狠狠躁东京热无码专区| 97免费人妻无码视频| 精品无码一级毛片免费视频观看 | 亚洲高清无码专区视频|