The White House issued a presidential memorandum directing Treasury-led interagency action to implement an “America First Investment Policy” that aims to accelerate investment from specified allies and partners while increasing constraints on foreign adversary access to sensitive United States assets and on United States capital supporting the People’s Republic of China’s military-industrial development. The policy envisages an expedited, objective-standards “fast-track” process for specified allied and partner investors into United States advanced technology and other priority areas, subject to security provisions including requirements to avoid partnering with United States foreign adversaries. For sensitive United States businesses involved in critical technology, critical infrastructure, personal data and other areas, the memorandum states that restrictions should ease in proportion to investors’ verifiable distance and independence from predatory PRC-linked and other foreign adversary practices, while continuing to welcome passive, non-controlling foreign investments with no governance rights or access to non-public technology. It also directs the use of legal tools including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to restrict PRC-affiliated persons from investing in strategic sectors such as technology, critical infrastructure, healthcare, agriculture, energy and raw materials, alongside stated plans to protect United States farmland and real estate near sensitive facilities and to seek stronger CFIUS authority over greenfield investments, foreign adversary access to United States talent and operations in sensitive technologies, and a broader set of “emerging and foundational” technologies. On outbound investment, the memorandum calls for a review of Executive Order 14105 and consideration of new or expanded restrictions on United States investment in the PRC in sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum, biotechnology, hypersonics, aerospace, advanced manufacturing and directed energy, potentially spanning private equity, venture capital, greenfield investments, corporate expansions and publicly traded securities, including capital from pension funds and university endowments. Additional actions include expediting environmental reviews for investments over USD 1 billion, moving away from open-ended mitigation agreements for investments from foreign adversary countries, reviewing whether to suspend or terminate the 1984 United States-PRC income tax convention, assessing audit standards under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, reviewing variable interest entity and subsidiary listing structures used by foreign-adversary companies, and updating fiduciary standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 for investments in foreign adversary public market securities. Treasury is tasked with taking actions including rulemaking to implement the policy in consultation with other agencies and, for CFIUS-related measures, in coordination with CFIUS members. The Environmental Protection Agency is directed to carry out the expedited environmental review policy, the Attorney General and Federal Bureau of Investigation are to provide a written recommendation on risks posed to United States investors for foreign adversary companies listed on domestic exchanges, and the Department of Labor is to publish updated fiduciary standards under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. The memorandum defines “foreign adversaries” as the PRC including Hong Kong and Macau, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

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