On the last day of July 2023, the US Department of the Treasury submitted to Congress its annual report on the work of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), pursuant to the Defense Production Act of 1950, 50 USC § 4565. Following a brief introduction about CFIUS, its composition, authority, processes, and heightened focus on supply chain security and resiliency and on US technological leadership, the eighty-three page report goes on to describe the transactions covered by its mandate.
There were more filed transactions in 2022 than in preceding years – 440 in total, with about 2/3 filed through notices and 1/3 through the short-form declaration process. Over half of the cases submitted were cleared.
The Committee reports that it concentrated a great deal of effort on scrutinizing transactions involving critical technologies, analyzing whether there is evidence of a coordinated strategy to acquire critical technology companies. CFIUS’ conclusions are complex, but a key finding was that economic, industrial and cyber espionage by foreign actors such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea constitutes a persistent threat against US security, prosperity, and competitive advantage.