Jason Oxman President and Chief Executive Officer at Information Technology Industry Council | Official website
Global tech trade association ITI has outlined recommendations for the U.S. government to consider before advancing a proposed rule on outbound investments, transactions, and transfers. In comments sent to the U.S. Department of Treasury today, ITI emphasized that the proposed outbound investment process could unintentionally curtail U.S. businesses’ ability to grow and expand into global markets.
“The broad prohibitions in the draft rule could have unintended consequences, such as diminishing U.S. company visibility into competing markets, reducing understanding of competitors' technology, and limiting benefits from research and development and talent recruitment in other markets,” ITI wrote in its comments. “These implications could significantly impact U.S. competitiveness and innovation, thereby affecting U.S. economic and national security.”
ITI recommends the U.S. government:
- Narrow and clarify the proposed rule’s broad scope affecting U.S. persons, entities, and reporting thresholds to align the draft rules with stated national security objectives;
- Exempt all intracompany transactions, including between U.S. persons and subsidiary companies, from the scope of the rule;
- Simplify the threshold for determining “covered activities” and revise the aggregate assessment requirement to a clear 50 percent test involving a single entity;
- Include practical examples in the final rule, similar to those used in other U.S. regulations, to provide clearer guidance on interpreting specific provisions, assessing investment risks, and ensuring compliance;
- Align the draft rules with other U.S. national security regulations, including those addressing export controls, AI, and semiconductors to ensure consistency and avoid duplication.
