Biden Signed an Executive Order Related to National Security Issue in Foreign Investment

According to a media report on Sep 16th, the US president Joe Biden signed an executive order on Sep 15th, aiming to enhance national security concerning the federal government’s review process for foreign investment in America.

 The executive order reportedly will strengthen the oversight by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), made up of members from the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Commerce, Energy and Homeland Security and led by the Treasury Secretary. The committee submits the investigation results and corresponding recommendations to the president, who has the authority to suspend or prohibit a transaction.

 The order requires assessing whether a foreign investment could affect the resilience of America’s critical supply chains and whether it could impact America’s technological leadership in national security as well as broader investment trends. Moreover, cybersecurity risks and US residents’ sensitive data risks should also be taken into consideration.

 It is learnt that the order is targeted at no specific country, but it comes at a time when the CCP’s investment in the US technological sector and other industries has been receiving increasing attention from US officials. In 2018, the US introduced legislation on the grounds that CCP took advantage of its legal loophole to steal technology and sensitive information.

 This executive order was issued based on significant expansion of the 2018 legislation. The data released by the Treasury Department in August demonstrated that investors from Communist China filed more than double the number of applications in 2021 seeking regulatory clearance.