United States: Inward/ Foreign Investment

President Trump's August 2026 memorandum directs the most comprehensive overhaul of U.S. naval shipbuilding in decades, mandating accelerated acquisition of strategic sealift vessels under the innovative "Finland Model" framework and establishing the first new public Navy shipyard in over 80 years. How will foreign shipbuilders, domestic contractors, and sealift operators position themselves to capitalize on these binding directives with 60- to 120-day implementation deadlines?

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has launched a comprehensive new website for the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), consolidating previously scattered guidance and introducing innovative tools including a pre-filing consultation portal and detailed risk assessment matrix. This development provides transaction parties with unprecedented transparency into CFIUS's national security review framework and offers practical resources for navigating cross-border investment transactions

On August 7, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), released its Annual Report to Congress covering calendar year 2025 (the “Report”). The Report provides detailed statistics on CFIUS filing volumes, review timelines, enforcement actions, and policy developments during 2025. Below, we summarize the key takeaways from the Report and their practical implications for M&A transactions. These statistics are increasingly important for dealmakers, as the CFIUS process can affect deal timing and risk allocation, and is critical to regulatory risk assessment across the M&A lifecycle.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has issued an aggressive proposed rule that would substantially revise regulations implementing the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978, significantly expanding disclosure obligations for foreign ownership of agricultural land. The proposal broadens the definition of agricultural land, lowers reporting thresholds, and substantially increases penalties for non-compliance, reflecting heightened national security concerns about foreign ownership of U.S. agr

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has launched a revamped CFIUS website featuring a pre-filing consultations portal, enhanced filing guidance, and best practices documentation. These new resources aim to reduce uncertainty for potential filers and streamline the review process by providing clearer expectations and practical guidance on documentation requirements.

On July 29, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”), as Chair of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS” or the “Committee”), published new guidance for the public in the form of a CFIUS Risk Matrix.

We regularly help foreign-based businesses access U.S. customers by establishing a local presence. At the state level, the first step is choosing a state of incorporation, or registration.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed sweeping changes to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act that would dramatically expand what qualifies as agricultural land, eliminate key reporting exemptions, and impose stricter penalties on foreign investors. The proposed rule reframes AFIDA as a national security measure rather than a data-collection exercise, potentially affecting institutional investors, renewable energy developers, and even U.S. entities with upstream foreign ownership. W

We work with many international companies and entrepreneurs doing business in the United States. For anyone entering the U.S. market, choosing a state of formation is a threshold decision— one that carries significant...