In an era where “economic security is national security,” China’s growing economic power presents America with a distinct challenge.
Will Moreland looks to America’s response to suggest that the Biden administration is returning to an earlier “Rooseveltian” conception of national security—one which appreciates that a healthy American middle class is essential to defending democracy.
Moreland finds that under that more expansive vision of national security, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) is at risk of overuse. Because Moreland fears a more cumbersome and expansive investment review is likely to harm more than help the Biden administration’s foreign policy, he proposes a narrower approach.
This narrower CFIUS approach stands in contrast to recent calls for expansive investment review—and Moreland concludes it equips today’s policy makers with the right tool for the right problem.