WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA-17) introduced new legislation to ensure foreign investments made in the United States actually benefit American workers, while preventing the President from self-dealing. The Foreign Investment Review Monitoring and (FIRM) Commitment Tracking Oversight Board Act adds structured accountability, transparency, and standards for foreign investments.

“While foreign investments can create jobs and support our local economies, they also can open the door to adversaries undercutting American workers and the President lining his pockets,” said Senator Baldwin. “If foreign countries are going to invest in the United States like the President says they are, we need some basic oversight and transparency to make sure its American workers and American communities seeing a return, not our adversaries, the President’s family, or the well-connected.” 

“Establishing the Foreign Investment Review Authority (FIRA) would empower the U.S. government with the tools it needs to ensure investment commitments negotiated by the President benefit working Americans and never our economic adversaries, such as the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Our bill would ensure foreign countries are unable to leverage FDI to gain unfair access to the U.S. market or make corrupt deals that lack Congressional oversight,” said Congressman Khanna, Ranking Member of the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in the United States can create jobs, promote innovation, bolster cooperation with allies, and improve economic conditions for Americans. However, economic adversaries like China have sought to leverage FDI to gain unfair access to the U.S. market, promote their control over certain industries, and even violate workers’ rights here in the U.S. For example, when Chinese-owned Fuyao glass opened up shop in 2016 in Ohio, they replaced good-paying union jobs with nonunion work at much lower wages, while paying millions in penalties for labor violations. All the while, Fuyao has expanded, adding new capacity and shrinking the market share of U.S. firms that play by the rules.

Adding to this risk is the current president, who is intent on securing flashy big dollar investment commitments from other nations, allied and adversarial, such as South Korea’s $350 billion commitment, Japan’s $550 billion commitment, Taiwan’s $500 billion commitment, and forthcoming investments from China through the recently announced U.S.-China Board of Investment and Board of Trade. These announcements are made with few details about and next to no oversight on how they will improve economic conditions for Americans or what guardrails there are to ensure the President is not personally enriching himself or his family. 

Currently, the U.S. lacks the tools to assess the impact of FDI on the U.S. economy, workers, and competition. It is increasingly important that Congress establish a mechanism to review inbound investment being made pursuant to agreements that have been made with other economies without the input of the public or elected representatives in Congress. As a result, foreign investment commitments can operate with limited transparency, weak accountability, and no standardized evaluation of their economic or strategic impact. Foreign investment commitments mean little if the jobs they create are low-wage, temporary, or go to foreign workers. 

The FIRM Commitment Tracking Oversight Board Act would introduce structured accountability, transparency, and standards for foreign investment in the United States. This bill would do so by:

  • Creating the Foreign Investment Review Authority (FIRA) to identify, track, and publicly disclose foreign investment commitments.
    • Members of the board will include a board chair appointed by the President and confirmed by Congress, designees by the Secretaries of Commerce and Labor and the U.S. Attorney General along with four members appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate that represent a party other than the President’s.
  • Establishing a formal review process to determine whether investments provide a net economic benefit to the U.S., including through quality job creation, promotion of domestic competition, and domestic supply chain integration;
  • Reinforcing ethical requirements, ensuring no investments can be used to inappropriately enrich government officials or family members of officials; and
  • Instituting enforceable reporting, backed by penalties for noncompliance, for covered investments.

The bill is also supported by Representatives Thomas Suozzi (D-NY-3), Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6), and Shontel Brown (D-OH-11). The legislation is endorsed by the United Auto Workers and Groundwork Action.

“In the U.S. auto industry and beyond, trade and investment rules have empowered corporations to destroy jobs, erode union density, and undercut the working class,” said Rajiv Sicora, UAW Legislative Director. “Instead of inviting a race to the bottom, we should make sure that all foreign direct investment upholds the highest standards and strengthens our economy — especially when such investment is linked to trade concessions. We thank Senator Baldwin and Congressman Khanna for introducing this legislation to expand oversight of FDI and protect good wages, benefits, and the right to form a union.”

A one pager on this legislation is available here. A section-by-section breakdown is available here.

Full text of this legislation is available here.

An online version of this release is available here.