The Biden administration is aiming to expand its authority to block foreign investments by proposing new rules to restrict land purchases near military bases. The Treasury Department proposed a rule on Monday that would add more than 50 military installations across 30 states to a list of sensitive locations. This move is intended to enhance a 2018 law, allowing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to block foreign land purchases near these bases, amidst growing bipartisan concerns over Chinese investments threatening national security.
The Treasury Department stated that this proposal is the result of a long-term review and is not targeted at any specific country. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen emphasized that the expansion would significantly strengthen CFIUS’s ability to review real estate transactions near sensitive military installations. The proposed rule would extend CFIUS’s jurisdiction to review real estate deals within 1 mile of 40 additional military installations and within 100 miles of 19 new ones, following a review by federal agencies including the Defense Department.
This regulatory change could further deter Chinese investments in the United States, which have already been declining due to increasing anti-China sentiment and stricter regulatory scrutiny. J. Philip Ludvigson, a national security expert, noted that this reflects a more aggressive stance by the Department of Defense regarding property near military installations and underscores the administration’s heightened focus on national security in the context of foreign investments.
