Speaking Engagement
Tyler McGaughey Featured in Financier Worldwide’s 2023 Foreign Investment and National Security Roundtable
Speaking Engagement
June 2023
Foreign investment can be a complex endeavor. With an increasing number of countries expanding their review regimes or establishing new systems, the regulatory tapestry is infused with national security sensitivities that pose significant challenges for transactions.
Financier Worldwide’s Foreign Investment and National Security Roundtable Report features a moderated discussion with Winston & Strawn Washington, D.C. Partner Tyler McGaughey as well as other key national security attorneys.
In the roundtable, Tyler and his co-panelists discussed:
- The complexities, risks, opportunities, and trends in the international foreign investment environment.
- Recent and upcoming regulatory changes that could affect foreign investments.
- Challenges that foreign investors may face in a formal review process and guidance on how to navigate the process.
In one section of the roundtable, Tyler discusses the importance of having deep local knowledge when evaluating foreign investment opportunities and what kinds of considerations need to be made with regard to investment screening. Tyler is quoted saying, “You can read CFIUS’s governing statute and regulations and still not really understand how CFIUS thinks or operates. How does CFIUS analyze an investment? What does it consider a threat? Which industries are strategically important? The answers are not obvious from publicly available materials–on CFIUS or other international FDI regimes. Corporations and asset managers need people with real-world experience to help understand how these regulatory processes actually work in practice.”
In another section, Tyler was asked to describe the political and economic developments around national security issues and how these shifts impact foreign investment flows. “Countries are growing disillusioned with globalization and focusing more on rising geopolitical tensions and supply chains,” he said. “The U.S. has responded to the economic threat posed by China by attempting to repatriate strategically important supply chains using subsidies and tax breaks and taking a more aggressive approach to Chinese investment. In the past, the goal was to maintain a technological advantage over China, which meant that Chinese investors could invest in U.S. businesses, providing there was no reasonable risk that China would gain leading-edge capabilities. Now, the goal is to widen the gap, so Chinese investors cannot invest in any area regarded as strategically important, regardless of whether the U.S. business has leading-edge technology. Not only are foreign investments in areas like semiconductors, AI, quantum computing, biotechnology, and aerospace essentially off-limits to Chinese investors, but they are also increasingly off-limits for any foreign investors with substantial business ties to China.”
Read the full roundtable report in the June 2023 issue of Financier Worldwide.
About Financier Worldwide
Since 2001, Financier Worldwide has been providing valuable information on corporate finance and board-level business issues through its monthly print magazine and exclusive website content. As a leading publisher of news and analysis on this dynamic global market, the organization has become recognized as a valued source of intelligence to the corporate community. For more information about Financier Worldwide, please visit their website www.financierworldwide.com.