In plain terms. Section 721 of the Defense Production Act establishes the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an interagency body chaired by the Treasury Secretary that reviews foreign investments in U.S. businesses for national-security risk and can recommend that the President block or unwind a transaction. The Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (FIRRMA) expanded CFIUS's jurisdiction beyond deals that give a foreign person "control" to cover certain non-controlling investments in "TID" businesses — those involved with critical Technology, critical Infrastructure, or sensitive personal Data — and to reach certain real-estate transactions near sensitive government sites. FIRRMA also created mandatory declarations for some deals (for example, certain critical-technology and foreign-government-linked transactions). As Ralls Corp. v. CFIUS held, the President's national-security determination is not reviewable on the merits, but affected parties are entitled to due process. For contractors, CFIUS exposure shapes foreign-investment, M&A, and FOCI planning.
Citation. Pub. L. 81-774 (1950), § 721, as amended by Pub. L. 115-232, Subtitle A (Aug. 13, 2018); 50 U.S.C. § 4565.