Sixteen months after a furor erupted over a bid by Dubai Ports World to manage six major US ports, the House and Senate have both approved legislation to tighten up the approval process for foreign acquisitions of U.S. companies:
The bill is aimed at ensuring greater consideration for national security concerns–most notably by making the Director of National Intelligence a member of the inter-agency committee that reviews proposed takeovers. It also includes a number of other reforms–such as a provision to heighten the burden for firms from countries that don’t cooperate with the United States on counterterror and non-proliferation efforts and an increase in reporting to Congress on reviews and investigations. But while leaders in Congress wanted both to ensure that foreign acquisitions don’t threaten national security, and to be seen as ‘doing something’ to address the problems posed by deals like DPW, they were not eager to put themselves in the position of being blamed for deals that were unpopular after the fact, according to one trade insider. So this approach–which will likely be enacted into law–is an artful one that satisfies security concerns while leaving responsibility for decision-making firmly in the hands of the Executive Branch.
