Publication
Distress signals: Cooperation agreements or mergers to the rescue in times of crisis?
The current volatile and unpredictable economic climate creates challenges for businesses.
Author:
United States | Publication | September 2022
On September 15, 2022, US President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) directing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to consider a specified list of national security risks when reviewing covered transactions. The EO represents the first time a US president has issued an executive order providing formal Presidential direction on priority national security risks since CFIUS was first established in 1975.
Specifically, the EO directs the Committee to evaluate covered transactions' impact on:
Each of these factors is widely understood to have already been considered by CFIUS when reviewing covered the transactions and the EO does not change CFIUS' jurisdiction, operations or processes. Therefore, the EO's intent appears to be more oriented toward sharpening the Committee's focus on these particular risk factors and also providing notice to the business community that transactions involving these areas are likely to be subject to increased scrutiny in the future.
Parties contemplating current or future transactions involving foreign investments should continue to ensure that their CFIUS due diligence process includes an examination of these particular risk factors and anticipate that transactions involving such risks may be subject to enhanced scrutiny by the Committee.
Our team continues to monitor this space and will publish additional updates as appropriate.
Special thanks to Law Clerk Claire Huitt (Washington, DC) for her assistance in the preparation of this content.
Publication
The current volatile and unpredictable economic climate creates challenges for businesses.
Publication
Recent tariffs and other trade measures have transformed the international trade landscape, impacting almost every sector, region and business worldwide.
Publication
In mid-March 2025, Cognia Law and Norton Rose Fulbright’s Legal Operations Consulting team co-hosted a second roundtable event that brought together senior leaders, including GCs, COO and head of legal operations, from across the legal industry to discuss how to drive meaningful change within the legal ecosystem.
Subscribe and stay up to date with the latest legal news, information and events . . .
© Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 2025