The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, commonly referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, passed on November 15, 2021. Included in the $1.2 trillion spending package are expansions to various “Buy America” provisions, a set of statutes and regulations that apply to federal financial assistance used to support infrastructure-related projects. “Buy America” requirements differ from the requirements under the Buy American Act of 1933, which focuses on direct procurement by the federal government.
Continue Reading Buy America Provisions in the Infrastructure Bill: What this Means for Foreign Companies

  • On October 10, 2018, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States put into effect the first mandatory filing requirement ever imposed by CFIUS. The Department of Treasury’s summary of the Pilot Program is available here.
  • Effective November 10, 2018, CFIUS will require reviews of critical technology investments – including certain non-controlling investments – from any country.
  • A failure to file notice or a new short form declaration to CFIUS may result in a civil monetary penalty up to the value of the transaction.
  • The requirements will not apply to any transaction that is completed prior to November 10, 2018 or any transaction for which the material terms were established prior to October 11, 2018.

Background

On August 13, 2018, President Trump signed FIRRMA into law. FIRRMA is a transformational expansion of the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review certain transactions that previously eluded the Committee’s jurisdiction (discussed in our blog, here). Congress left many critical aspects of the FIRRMA framework to be addressed through regulations promulgated by the Department of Treasury. Although we do not expect final rules to be forthcoming until late 2019 or early 2020, Congress empowered the Department of Treasury to “test-drive” parts of FIRRMA through Pilot Programs. Those programs can be implemented simply, taking effect 30 days after publication of the program requirements in the Federal Register. The adoption and implementation of the Pilot Program for critical technologies represents the Department of Treasury’s first attempt to implement substantive parts of FIRRMA prior to issuing formal regulations.
Continue Reading FIRRMA Takes Form as CFIUS Enacts a New Pilot Program Targeting “Critical Technologies”

All this past week, you have been hearing about FIRRMA, the new legislation that will increase the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States that is expected to be signed into law in the coming weeks. As we predicted here and here on our Global Trade Law Blog, FIRRMA will authorize CFIUS to review non-controlling investments by foreign companies, to enhance restrictions on investment in certain “critical technology,” to target real estate deals in proximity to sensitive U.S. Government sites, and to require mandatory filings for certain investments by foreign government-owned entities.
Continue Reading Life in the Fast Lane: CFIUS-Free Investments, if You’re From the Right Country

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on Tuesday, July 10, expanding and increasing the powers of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The bill is called the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA).

The 400-2 passage in the House shows an overwhelming bipartisan momentum behind FIRRMA and signals that the bill is likely to be on the President’s desk for signature as soon as the House and Senate reconcile their versions. The timing of the actions is not coincidental. It appears that the Trump Administration has decided to let Congress take the lead on increasing scrutiny of foreign investments.
Continue Reading Reform of Foreign Investment in the U.S.: France and Other Allied Countries Might be Exempt

French investments in the U.S. vary largely in terms of scale and nature, but whatever it is a small French startup only creating an even smaller U.S. subsidiary or a large French corporation acquiring and restructuring an even larger U.S. group, they all face the same hurdle at some point: opening a U.S. bank account to run their newly-created or newly-acquired business.

Be aware that U.S. banks require corporations, partnerships and LLCs to have an Employer Identification Number (“EIN”) to open an account. Therefore, until you have an EIN, you cannot open a bank account, which could affect your transaction’s agenda, especially in deals where time is of essence (which is almost always the case).
Continue Reading Opening a U.S. Bank Account Can be Much More Onerous than you Think and Can Delay Your Cross-Border Transaction or Growth Plans in the U.S.