Under what conditions might a foreign acquisition of a US company
constitute a genuine national security threat to the United States? What
kinds of risks and threats should analysts and strategists on the
Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), as well as
their congressional overseers, be prepared to identify and deal with?
This study looks at three types of foreign acquisitions of US companies
that may pose a legitimate national security threat.
The first is a proposed acquisition that would make the United States
dependent on a foreign-controlled supplier of goods or services that are
crucial to the functioning of the US economy and that this supplier
might delay, deny, or place conditions on the provision of those goods
or services. The second is a proposed acquisition that would allow the
transfer to a foreign-controlled entity of technology or other expertise
that might be deployed in a manner harmful to US national interests. The
third potential threat is a proposed acquisition that would provide the
capability to infiltrate, conduct surveillance on, or sabotage the
provision of goods or services that are crucial to the functioning of
the US economy. This study analyzes these threats in detail and
considers what criteria are needed for a proposed foreign acquisition to
be considered threatening. Ultimately, the vast majority of foreign
acquisitions pose no credible threat to national security on these
grounds.