American Investment Accountability Act
The American Investment Accountability Act would require regular, detailed federal reporting on U.S. investments in entities that are controlled by foreign adversaries. It defines a set of “countries of concern” (including China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela) and creates criteria for what counts as a “covered United States business” and a “covered entity” linked to those countries. The bill tasks the Commerce Department, the Treasury, and the Securities and Exchange Commission with producing periodic, data-rich reports (every 90 days after an initial 1-year runway) that track both direct and portfolio investments, including activity routed through offshore financial centers. The aim is to increase transparency around investments that could strengthen adversaries’ economic or political leverage. The text does not itself impose new investment prohibitions or sanctions, but it could lay groundwork for future policy actions by Congress.
Key Points
- 1Definitions and scope
- 2- Establishes what counts as a country of concern and a covered entity, including entities tied to those countries through ownership, control, or government influence.
- 3- Key categories include direct investment, portfolio investment, and ownership thresholds (e.g., 25% ownership) and that offshore centers can route investments.
- 4- Covers entities with headquarters, jurisdiction, or government ties in a country of concern, or those with significant ownership by sanctioned or government-linked entities.
- 5Covered entities and investments
- 6- Defines covered United States businesses and what constitutes a covered entity, including ownership or control by a country of concern and related subsidiaries or affiliates.
- 7- Distinguishes between direct investments (investments in physical or real operations) and portfolio investments (stock, bonds, and similar financial assets).
- 8Offshore financial centers
- 9- Creates thresholds to identify offshore centers as intermediaries for U.S. investments: more than $100 million in direct investments or more than $500 million in portfolio investments annually.
- 10Reporting requirements by agencies
- 11- Commerce Department: within 1 year of enactment, then every 90 days, reports on the value of direct investments by U.S. persons in countries of concern and in covered entities, including sector and state-level detail and offshore-center activity; and counts of large direct investments (over $5 million in a single transaction or over $10 million in aggregate).
- 12- Treasury Department: within 1 year, then every 90 days, reports on portfolio investments by U.S. persons in countries of concern and in covered entities, with similar sector/state detail and offshore-center accounting; counts of large portfolio investments (over $10 million single transaction or over $25 million aggregate), plus information on initial public offerings of covered entities.
- 13- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): within 1 year, then every 90 days, reports on corporate actions involving covered United States businesses and entities, including spin-offs, joint ventures, mergers, expansion in countries of concern (with thresholds), and direct investments in those countries.
- 14Period and cadence
- 15- The first reporting window covers the 1-year period before the first reports; subsequent reports cover the 90-day period before each submission.