Treasury Amends CFIUS Procedures and Enforcement Authorities

On November 18, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury ("Treasury") issued a final rule (the "Final Rule") that amends the regulations administered and enforced by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States ("CFIUS"). In particular, the Final Rule "enhance[s] certain CFIUS procedures and sharpen[s] its penalty and enforcement authorities" in order to ensure its investment screening regime "has a sharper scalpel to more quickly and effectively address national security risks that arise in CFIUS reviews." The Final Rule remains largely consistent with Treasury's April 4, 2024 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, with a few adjustments in response to public comments. Substantively, the Final Rule makes these six changes: (i) expands the types of information transaction parties and other persons may be required to provide to CFIUS; (ii) allows the CFIUS Staff Chairperson to prescribe a timeframe within which transaction parties must substantively respond to mitigation proposals; (iii) broadens the circumstances in which CFIUS may use its subpoena authority; (iv) expands the circumstances in which a civil monetary penalty may be imposed due to a party's material misstatement or omission; (v) extends the timeframe for submission of a petition for reconsideration of a CFIUS-imposed penalty; and (vi) significantly increases the maximum civil monetary penalties parties may face for violations of the CFIUS statute and regulations, as well as agreements, orders and conditions authorized thereunder.

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