In the News: CFIUS Guidance; RMB X-Factor; and Blockchain Patent Applications

The U.S. Capitol building. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

CFIUS Guidance

On September 15, U.S. President Biden signed into law Executive Order 14083, providing guidance on the criteria that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) must take into account when evaluating whether an inbound foreign transaction may raise national security concerns.

Under the executive order, CFIUS must take into account the following: First, a transaction's effect on the resilience of critical U.S. supply chains that may have national security implications including artificial intelligence, critical mineral and material resources, advanced clean energy technologies, and microelectronics; Second, a transaction's potential harm to the U.S.'s international technological leadership in areas impacting national security; Third, the cumulative effects of multiple transactions involving the same or related parties; Fourth, potential cybersecurity risks arising from a transaction. And fifth, a transaction's impact on access, use, or transfer of sensitive data of U.S. persons by foreign parties who may use the information in a way that threatens national security.