Reply #18: ***More info on the GAO report on the CFIUS approval committee: [View All]

[Nothing Without Hope]

I don't have time to set up a full thread now, but here are some of the key pieces:

http://subscript.bna.com/SAMPLES/itd.nsf/125731d8816a84d385256297005f336a/c4045b130be5be258525708b00020a39?OpenDocument
INTERNATIONAL TRADE DAILY
Thursday, September 29, 2005
ISSN 1533-1350
Lead Report/Foreign Investment

GAO Criticizes Foreign Investment Reviews; Business Groups Defend Process

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said in a report released Sept. 28 that an interagency committee charged with reviewing foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies for security concerns has taken an overly narrow view of national security that may undermine the effectiveness of U.S. laws on foreign investment.

(snip)

CFIUS {the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States} is charged with implementing the so-called Exon-Florio provision of the 1988 Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act, which set up a process for reviewing foreign direct investment in the United States. After parties involved in a transaction notify the committee, CFIUS conducts an initial 30-day review of the deal, and then decides whether to undertake an additional 45-day investigation.

(snip)

CFIUS "may limit effectiveness" of Exon-Florio, the GAO report said, because the Treasury Department, as chair of the committee, "and some others narrowly define what constitutes a threat to national security--that is, they have limited the definition to export-controlled technologies or items and classified contracts, or specific derogatory intelligence on the foreign company."

(snip)

The GAO also charged that CFIUS is "reluctant" to initiate 45-day investigations "because of a perception that they would discourage foreign investment," which conflicts with the United States' open investment policy.

(snip)

And three other pieces; there are more interesting ones too that came up with a Google search on "CFIUS +GAO"

http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO/NSIAD-96-12
FOREIGN INVESTMENT: Implementation of Exon-Florio and Related ..

http://www.gao.gov/htext/d05686.html
GAO-05-686, Defense Trade: Enhancements to the Implementation of ...

http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/js2981.htm
Press Room October 20, 2005 JS-2981 Deputy Secretary Robert M ...