National Security Implications of Foreign Direct Investment

This course is designed to give students an overview of the process which governs the screening of foreign investment based on national security considerations. We will study the origin and function of the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S. (CFIUS) as well as the recent law which updates the CFIUS process, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA). Students will learn the composition and function of CFIUS. We will highlight cases which have been blocked by CFIUS, including ones which strained U.S. diplomatic relations with other nations. Students will be asked to conduct their own analysis in balancing national security against free and open investment. We will review the recent executive order which creates a “reverse” CFIUS and requires screening of outbound investment into sensitive technology with a focus on China as well as the recent Treasury Department report to Congress on CFIUS cases. There will be a focus on the possibility that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics could create new threats to national security.