The ambitious CFIUS reform bill introduced in November 2017, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), has recently received significant congressional attention and appears likely to become law this year, with some revisions from the version introduced last year. On June 18, 2018, the Senate passed its version of FIRRMA as Title XVII of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2019 (H.R. 5515). On June 26, 2018, the House passed its version of FIRRMA (H.R. 5841) as a stand-alone bill. Both versions of FIRRMA passed with strong majorities, and both versions have been updated in substantial part to alleviate US business concerns about some of the more extensive aspects of the original version of the bill. On June 27, President Trump urged Congress to move quickly to pass FIRRMA. The president’s statement came as he rejected the idea he had previously floated in the context of the ongoing Section 301 investigations about introducing additional investment restrictions against China under other legal authorities.

For more information on the key provisions of FIRRMA, its prospects for passage, and next steps in CFIUS reform, please see our advisory.