The role of foreign investment in private companies involved in U.S. national security first came to Congress’s attention in the 1970s when investments by foreign purchasers, especially from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), began to comprise significantly more assets based in America. With a view to monitor the U.S. policy on foreign investment, President Ford established the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) by the Executive Order 11858 of May 7, 1975.1 In 1988, the Congress enacted the Exon-Florio Amendment as part of the 1988 Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act. The Exon-Florio Act was enacted in reaction to an increase in foreign investments the United States during the 1980s, especially from Japan, and authorized the President to unwind, suspend or prohibit any acquisition of U.S. business that "threatened to impair the national security." The President delegated the investigation and review process of such investments by foreign purchasers to the CFIUS.Read more
