Biden Order Sharpens Foreign Investment Screening Process

President Joe Biden on Thursday signed an executive order that administration officials say aims to sharpen the national security considerations taken in the federal government's review process for foreign investment in the United States. From a report: Administration officials said the the order will bolster oversight by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency group tasked with reviewing deals and mergers involving foreign people and entities. The committee, known as CFIUS, is made up of members of the departments of State, Defense, Justice, Commerce, Energy and Homeland Security and is led by the Treasury secretary. It sends its findings and a recommendation to the president, who has the power to suspend or prohibit a deal.

While the White House said the new order is not targeted toward any particular country, it comes amid growing concern among U.S. officials about China's investments in the U.S. technology sector and other industries. The order calls for CFIUS to weigh whether a foreign investment or sale could affect the resilience of critical U.S. supply chains and the impact it could have on U.S. technological leadership in areas affecting U.S. national security and on broader investment trends.

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[mrex]

"Massive conspiracies between media, big tech, and the intelligence community to censor true information and disrupt the democratic process are fine WHEN WE DO IT." -y'all

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[ArchieBunker]

So the government has had the laptop for how many years now (including a few under Trump) and absolutely nothing has become of it? Yes everyone is in on this massive conspiracy.

it's all good

[SchroedingersCat]

Luckily, US does not depend on Chinese manufacturing like Europe depends on Russian gas. Oh, wait...

Re:it's all good

[Whateverthisis]

You have that backwards, both your key point and your analogy.

First your analogy. While much of Europe, specifically Germany and other parts of central Europe and less so France, Italy, Spain and other parts of Western Europe are heavily structured around natural gas, they have options [reuters.com]. So while a gas embargo can influence European attitudes towards Russian interests in the short term, in the long term it'll create demand destruction that will hurt Russia in the long term.

Then to your key point here, the US benefits from the Chinese manufacturing capability, but China depends on the US market. The US has other options for manufacturing; there's this tiny little country called Mexico that already does significant manufacturing trade with the US and is frankly a lot friendlier. Also there's this colder, little insignificant country called Canada that exports significant amount of high-end work to the US; in fact Mexico and Canada's exports to the US are about 50% larger than China's. So if trade were to cut off between China and the US, it'd hurt the US in the short term as they transition more orders to Mexico and Canada, but long term China's going to have a much harder time finding a market to replace the US market. There are many countries willing to take US dollars for work; not so many are willing to spend like the US market.

We've tried Mexico, China does a better job

[Somervillain]

The US has other options for manufacturing; there's this tiny little country called Mexico that already does significant manufacturing trade with the US and is frankly a lot friendlier. Also there's this colder, little insignificant country called Canada that exports significant amount of high-end work to the US; in fact Mexico and Canada's exports to the US are about 50% larger than China's. So if trade were to cut off between China and the US, it'd hurt the US in the short term as they transition more orders to Mexico and Canada, but long term China's going to have a much harder time finding a market to replace the US market. There are many countries willing to take US dollars for work; not so many are willing to spend like the US market.

#1 Mexico is the 10th largest country in the world. I doubt many Mexicans like being called "tiny little" as they're 37% as big as we are and bigger than any country in Europe. But that aside, we've been outsourcing to Mexico since before the 80s and it hasn't gone well. In fact, it's 20% cheaper per hour for factory wages in Mexico, so if it was about cost, China AND the US would move their factories to Mexico and I am sure a few have. Mexico has a ton of space for warehouses and would be a lot cheaper

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[Whateverthisis]

#1 Mexico is the 10th largest country in the world. I doubt many Mexicans like being called "tiny little" as they're 37% as big as we are and bigger than any country in Europe.

That was meant ironically.

But that aside, we've been outsourcing to Mexico since before the 80s and it hasn't gone well. In fact, it's 20% cheaper per hour for factory wages in Mexico, so if it was about cost, China AND the US would move their factories to Mexico and I am sure a few have. Mexico has a ton of space for warehouses and would be a lot cheaper logistically speaking for US trade.

That depends heavily on who you asked.

The problem is China actually does a better job than Mexico. I was told a story from a tool executive about their experiences with Mexico vs China. You make a deal with the Chinese gov and it tends to go as planned. In contrast, you strike a deal with Mexico to build a factory, this company was subject to many delays, permit issues, etc that were fixed by bribing local officials. After an election, they found it stalled again and had to grease some more palms. However, the factory was eventually built and operational after a few years of delays. They found many law enforcement issues. Trucks would disappear. Workers would get mugged near the factory. Shipments would arrive a bit light. They'd the driver each time and it would keep on happening. The police would clear the drivers and the driver would insist they have nothing to do with it. Ignoring the crime, they had constant issues with infrastructure, getting reliable power, etc. They had to install a fancy generator system to stop shutdowns. In the end, it was the same cost to use union USA labor after all the mysterious expenses. Maybe things have changed since then, but you do business with China, things are pretty predictable. Roads are built and maintained. The local gov works to ensure reliable power, access to ports, etc. China started out by being cheap, but they became reigning champions by being good, reliable, and predictable. American, Japanese, South Korean, and European factories still produce superior products, but that advantage erodes each year, as does China's cost savings. There are also many nations in Asia which are far cheaper, but they have similar issues as Mexico. Most companies would pay a higher wage than have inventory disappear or have the factory shut down on a regular basis.

I'd VERY VERY VERY much love to see Mexico become a manufacturing powerhouse. I love Mexico and they're an awesome neighbor and would love to see them thrive and become a business powerhouse to help deal with their crime situation. However, that crime situation is a huge liability for anyone doing business there. I think if there was any chance for Mexico to be our manufacturing center, it would have happened by now.

And you asked someone; that's good! I absolutely believe their experience. The problem is that parts of Mexico are very different, so you can't lump it all together. Major border crossings like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez are problems because they're the main points of entry for migrants from other parts of South America; most "illegal immigrants" or undocumented people trying to cross illegally are not Mexicans but rather from other countries

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[Local ID10T]

I doubt many Mexicans like being called "tiny little" as they're 37% as big as we are

They aint that short!

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[DesertNomad]

Maybe he meant "wide"

I don't have a comment on the politics

[Iamthecheese]

I just want to say I appreciate that the selected part of the article, the title, and the summary are all of neutral, factual tone and I appreciate that.