On July 17, the Department of State communicated to Congress that Iran remains in compliance with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement reached over Iran’s nuclear program by the world’s major powers that went into effect in January 2016. Under U.S. law, the Administration is required to make this certification—or not—every 90 days, making this the second time that the Trump Administration has issued such a certification to…

On June 7, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said publicly that Congress should pass legislation to amend the authorizing statute for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews.  Without elaborating on the specific changes he envisions, Mnuchin said that there was a need for “technical changes” to the statute.…

On Thursday, May 18, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin waded further publicly into efforts on Capitol Hill to amend the authorizing statute underlying the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews.  Munchin reportedly told a gathering of business executives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “There are some parts of CFIUS we probably do need to amend,” adding that officials “should be looking at”…

Congressional efforts to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee that conducts national security reviews, continue apace. This week saw the introduction of bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that would (i) give federal agriculture and food officials permanent representation on CFIUS and (ii) amend the statute to allow the Committee to consider agriculture and food-related criteria when reviewing transactions that could result in control of a U.S.…

Lawmakers in both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate are examining ways to restrict Chinese investment in the United States by reforming national security reviews conducted by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. Government interagency committee. The prospects for statutory changes to CFIUS reviews appear greater now than at any time since the underlying statute was overhauled nearly a decade ago.…