Since August 6, 2025, when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) issued its’ 2024 Annual Report to Congress, legal blogs have pored over the numbers. They have both analyzed and reverse-engineered the numbers in great detail to highlight a series of observations: a decrease in the number of filings, a decrease in the foreign direct investment, a decrease in the reviewed transactions, a decrease in the use of mitigation measures, and a decrease in the percentage of short form declarations that resulted in full notices. And these blogs are also correct to see the Report as highlighting CFIUS’ priorities, trends in enforcement, and some indicators on CFIUS enforcement.
However, foreign investors – especially those in the technology and other critical sectors, such as technology, AI, and energy – are well advised to note the increases found in the Report: the increase in CFIUS staff, the increase in scrutiny and extended investigations, the increase in targeted non-notified enquiries, and the increase in site visits for monitoring compliance with mitigation agreements. Whatever the decreases in the Report, it is these increases that deserve the focus of clients in sectors such as technology, AI, and critical energy development. For example, the Report contains CFIUS’s largest penalty to date ($60 million) and announces a new enforcement webpage. The potential costs that confront technology, AI, and energy clients merit increased attention.
And the administration is expressing its interest in reaching further into the specifics of transactions. Read together with the instruction from the America First Investment Policy that “mitigation agreements should consist of concrete actions [emphasis added] that companies can complete within a specific time [emphasis added], rather than perpetual and expensive compliance obligations”, the increased focus on monitoring compliance puts clients on notice that CFIUS mitigation agreements may be more specific, more targeted, and perhaps more technical in the near future.
Even as filings from China decline, the astute observer will note the number of filings from French, Japanese, and Singaporean entities. And these entities and those similarly situated are advised to seek counsel to understand if, how, and how deeply these trends in CFIUS can affect their business goals.
CFIUS regulation can be difficult to navigate, and compliance costs can be severe. Our practice group at Centre Law has counseled clients across the globe in critical technology sectors. Please contact the authors at ssivakumar@centrelawgroup.com and jpayne@centrelawgroup.com to understand how to ensure compliance, and avoid costs related to CFIUS.
