President Trump has issued an order requiring HieFo Corporation, a Delaware-based company identified as a foreign person, to divest its interests in certain assets of EMCORE Corporation. The assets involved include EMCORE’s digital chips and related wafer design, fabrication, and processing business, as well as a semiconductor manufacturing facility.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) reviewed this transaction under Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950. CFIUS determined that the transaction posed national security risks due to potential access to EMCORE’s intellectual property and expertise, along with concerns about the possible diversion of indium phosphide chip supplies away from the United States. As a result, President Trump’s order directs HieFo to divest all interests and rights in these EMCORE assets.
According to the statement, “HieFo did not file the transaction with CFIUS until after CFIUS’s non-notified team investigated the transaction.” The statement further explains that CFIUS’s ability to identify and review transactions that have not been voluntarily notified has been strengthened by recent legislative changes and additional funding from Congress.
The process undertaken by CFIUS focuses solely on identifying and addressing national security risks for each covered transaction. The committee evaluates each case individually based on its specific facts and circumstances. The statement notes: “CFIUS reviews each transaction on a case-by-case basis and considers the specific facts and circumstances relating to that transaction. As such, the disposition of each CFIUS case is reflective only of CFIUS’s analysis of that specific transaction and not indicative of a general position on the transaction parties, countries, or industries involved.”
CFIUS is an interagency committee chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury. Its members include officials from several other federal departments such as State, Defense, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security, Justice Department; representatives from science policy offices; trade; intelligence; labor; and agriculture when relevant.
Treasury’s Office of Investment Security leads efforts to identify transactions where no voluntary notice has been filed under section 721. If such a non-notified deal may raise national security considerations or fall within CFIUS jurisdiction for real estate or investment review purposes, parties may be contacted by CFIUS for further information or required filings.
Members of the public can contact Treasury regarding tips or disclosures at CFIUS.tips@treasury.gov.
