Assistant Secretary Chris Pilkerton's Remarks at ACI CFIUS Conference

Thank you to ACI for the invitation to speak this morning. I appreciate the opportunity to engage with you all and look forward to the discussion and hearing your questions.

Over the past half-century, CFIUS has developed from a relatively obscure government authority into a critical tool at the forefront of our national security. The CFIUS that we know today has been shaped through a series of laws, regulations, and executive actions that enhance our ability to protect the United States from new and evolving threats while facilitating investment to help grow the U.S. economy. Today, CFIUS's capabilities continue to advance as we find new ways to strengthen national security outcomes and improve the efficiency of our process.

As we look forward, you can expect CFIUS to continue to remain steadfast in its protection of national security consistent with the United States' open investment policy. The United States is the world's top destination for foreign direct investment, and that investment plays a significant role in U.S. economic growth by supporting industry expansion, providing job opportunities for the American people, and reinforcing the United States' standing as a global leader in technological innovation.

President Trump reaffirmed the United States' commitment to these principles in his "America First Investment Policy." Pursuant to the President's directive, we are working to increase efficiencies and reduce administrative burdens in the CFIUS process to facilitate greater investment from allies and partners where there is verifiable distance and independence from foreign adversaries.

As Assistant Secretary for Investment Security, my primary objective is to ensure CFIUS's core priority remains assessing and addressing any national security risks that arise from transactions that fall within its jurisdiction. By evaluating these potential threats, the Committee's many interagency participants-including subject matter experts, law enforcement, and the intelligence community-serve as important gatekeepers to protecting our national security.

Another one of my goals as Assistant Secretary is to increase our focus on customer service. Process efficiencies and stakeholder communication are an important part of CFIUS. It is vital that we understand how investors interact with our process and how we can, as appropriate, demystify the process and increase transparency and predictability for filers. I look forward to discussing the Known Investor Program announced last year, which implements President Trump's directive for CFIUS to establish a "fast track" process in the America First Investment Policy.

Third, as Congress directed, filing certain types of transactions with CFIUS is mandatory, and the Committee has the authority to review any transaction not voluntarily filed with CFIUS that is covered by its jurisdiction and may raise national security considerations. Accordingly, CFIUS is focused on ensuring transaction parties comply with the mandatory filing requirement, and we are prepared to act if they fail to do so. CFIUS is similarly focused on identifying, and where appropriate, bringing in "non-notified" transactions that may not have been mandatory but may raise national security concerns. When in doubt, we encourage parties to engage proactively with us, and utilize us as a resource in these circumstances, as addressing national security risks is typically easier for all parties involved before a transaction is closed than after.

Fourth, building on the benefits of foreign investment, which include increased jobs, wages, R&D, exports, and more, and in line with CFIUS's mandates to educate the business community and strengthen national security, we want to work with industry to better understand their supply chain and vendor needs so that we can work with interagency partners as well as the private sector to better inform their identification of vendors and deployment of capital to build secure and resilient sources of supply right here in the United States.

Fifth, as Congress set forth in the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act in 2018, CFIUS will continue to actively work with allies and partners on their own investment security programs. This engagement to date has led to the establishment and enhancement of dozens of investment screening mechanisms around the world and will remain an important tool as this Administration engages the global community on critical economic and national security issues.

Finally, I am focused on ensuring the Outbound Investment Security Program remains effective and responsive to threats to U.S. national security and evolving that program as Congress has directed through recently passed legislation with bipartisan support, the COINS Act. Our work across these programs will be coupled with the insights of our growing team of subject matter experts, scientists, and engineers to ensure we stay ahead of global technology trends and potential threats.

Right now, it is a very exciting time at the Treasury Department's Office of Investment Security. I am looking forward to the discussion and sharing with you some of the recent and expected developments in CFIUS and the Outbound Investment Security Program.

Thank you.