President Joe Biden this week extended a national emergency that authorizes a ban on certain U.S. investments in Chinese military companies. Biden in 2021 expanded the ban, first issued during the Trump administration, by widening the scope of the restrictions to cover companies operating in China’s surveillance technology sector (see 2106030067).
The reporting requirements being considered by the Treasury Department as part of its upcoming outbound investment rules (see 2308090066 and 2310050035) are "quite broad,” Akin Gump lawyer Laura Black said, adding that they will require companies to report on how certain investments fit into their business plans in the U.S. as well as the contractual and government relationships held by their Chinese clients. Black, speaking during an Oct. 25 webinar hosted by the Massachusetts Export Center, said those requirements could increase compliance costs for U.S. companies and create challenges for their Chinese partners, who are subject to strict disclosure laws by the Chinese government.