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Washington,
D.C.
–
In
addition
to
securing
big
wins
for
South
Carolina’s
military
instillations
and
the
well-being
of
our
nation’s
troops
in
the
2019
National
Defense
Authorization
Act
(NDAA),
U.S.
Senator
Tim
Scott
(R-SC)
also
introduced
a
provision
that
will
help
stop
certain
foreign
investors
from
stealing
sensitive
national
security
materials
from
American
companies.
Scott
secured
the
inclusion
of
the
Foreign
Investment
Risk
Review
Modernization
Act
(FIRRMA)
in
the
NDAA
to
modernize
the
procedures
used
by
the
Committee
on
Foreign
Investment
in
the
US
(CFIUS),
a
government
entity
that
reviews
foreign
investment
in
American
companies
for
national
security
concerns.
“We
must
make
sure
sensitive
national
security
technology
and
intellectual
property
are
not
being
stolen
by
Chinese
or
any
other
nation’s
investors
in
American
companies,”
Scott
said.
“Modernizing
CFIUS
will
take
a
huge
step
forward
in
helping
prevent
these
abuses.
I
want
to
thank
my
colleague
Senator
Cornyn
for
all
his
efforts
on
this
issue,
as
well
as
my
colleagues
on
the
Armed
Services
Committee
for
their
support.”
CFIUS
procedures
have
not
been
updated
in
over
a
decade,
and
during
that
time,
experts
suggest
that
Chinese
investors
have
learned
to
exploit
gaps
in
the
current
system
in
an
effort
to
bring
sensitive
national
security-related
technology
and
know-how
back
to
China.
Specifically,
the
amendment
would:
- Expand
the
jurisdiction
of
CFIUS
to
include
certain
minority-position
investments,
joint
ventures,
and
real
estate
transactions
near
military
bases
and
other
sensitive
locations.
- Add
emerging
technologies
that
could
be
essential
for
America
to
maintain
our
technological
advantage
to
CFIUS’
definition
of
“critical
technologies”.
- Allow
CFIUS
to
exempt
covered
transactions
if
the
investors
are
from
countries
that
meet
certain
criteria,
such
as
having
a
mutual
investment
security
arrangement
or
being
a
U.S.
treaty
ally.
- Create
“light
filings”
for
certain
types
of
transactions.
- Add
new
national
security
factors
for
CFIUS
to
consider
in
its
analyses.
The
amendment
does
not:
- Impose
a
ban
on
Chinese
investment
in
the
U.S.
- Cover
all
joint
ventures
with
Chinese
entities.
- Automatically
block
any
transactions
(it
only
makes
certain
transactions
subject
to
review).
- Require
CFIUS
to
consider
investment
reciprocity
or
economic
security
impacts
in
its
analysis.
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