Protecting risk management strategies for foreign investment in the United States from a national security perspective

Abstract

Purpose

In the current trade war between the United States and China, CFIUS’s analysis of the risks of foreign investments to US national security has increased. The purpose of the article is to verify that access to data for the purposes of this risk analysis is difficult or impossible, and therefore it is not possible to assess strategic risk management, which increases the national security of the United States.

Design/methodology/approach

Data were extracted from a review of US federal law, including hard law and soft law. In addition, data for the study were extracted from US government documents of strategic importance and official and scientific documents produced by or for US federal government officials.

Findings

In analyzing the risk of foreign investment, there is great difficulty, and in some circumstances even an inability, to see the classified data underpinning the decisions made by CFIUS or the President, which enhances the national security of the United States.

Originality/value

In the wake of the US launching a trade war with China, the risk of foreign investment to US security has increased dynamically, thus increasing the need for CFIUS to analyze risk. However, vis-à-vis this analysis, there are great difficulties and, in some circumstances, even impossibilities in knowing the classified data underpinning the decisions made by CFIUS or the President of the United States, how national and global security risks are identified and assessed, and the model or tool used to assess the balance maintained between economic openness and national security protection. Consequently, the highest value of a foreign investment risk management strategy for US national security is to protect the strategy by preventing it from being assessed in detail and holistically.