Laura Black Quoted on CFIUS and China Greenfield Investments
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For its article “Lawmakers call for CFIUS to assume jurisdiction over greenfield investments,” Global Competition Review quoted Akin international trade senior counsel Laura Black. The article looks at Republican legislators’ proposed legislation that would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) jurisdiction over Chinese greenfield initiatives following CFIUS’s recent decision not to review two controversial land purchases by Chinese companies. GCR notes that CFIUS does not currently have the authority to review greenfield projects.
Laura, who served as Director of Policy and International Relations, CFIUS, Office of Investment Security, said that CFIUS would need more resources to review greenfield investments, although other countries have regimes in place that include such transactions.
She said, “This bill focuses on Chinese greenfield transactions. However, CFIUS does not have a ‘blacklist’ or prohibited list and has resisted such an approach. There is an inherent tension – focusing on transactions that are likely to be higher risk and calling out particular countries versus a more country agnostic jurisdictional approach.”