Treasury Department

The Trump administration on Thursday presented a unified front in favor of reforming and expanding the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, with officials from the Treasury, Commerce and Defense departments telling the Senate Banking Committee they back a bill pushed by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) but want to avoid signaling that the U.S. is discouraging investment.

The White House is considering the creation of a reciprocal investment regime with China following a Section 301 investigation into Chinese technology and intellectual property policies, but some in the administration fear it would lead to stock market losses and negatively affect U.S. companies doing business in China, private-sector sources briefed by White House officials told Inside U.S. Trade.

Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), the chairman of the House Financial Services subcommittee that oversees the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, said Tuesday that President Trump will by August be sent a bill to update the national security watchdog, but not necessarily the legislation being pushed Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) and Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC) and supported by some of Trump’s Cabinet.

Former Defense, Treasury and Commerce department officials told a House subcommittee on Thursday that the watchdog Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States needs more resources to perform its duties.

Companies like IBM, Goldman Sachs and General Electric are concerned about Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn’s (R-TX) bill to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, sources told Inside U.S. Trade this week.

Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) wants his legislation to update and broaden the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to get moving as soon as possible, but the chair of the Banking Committee, which must clear the bill before it gets to the Senate floor, this week downplayed chances of moving it quickly.

A bill spearheaded by Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) that was introduced today in both the House and Senate, with Democratic co-sponsors in both chambers, would update and strengthen the national security watchdog Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for the first time in a decade.

Japan, Korea, China, Germany and Switzerland remain on the monitoring list.