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Harry Clark Discusses Impact of Appellate Court’s CFIUS Ruling

The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg News
July.15.2014

International trade & compliance group chair Harry Clark was interviewed by The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News on the impact of the recent decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to allow a challenge to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) review process. The court ruled that Ralls Corp., which is owned by two Chinese nationals, must be allowed to challenge evidence the president drew on to decide that the company had to sell all assets and operations connected to the Oregon wind-farm project.

Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, Mr. Clark noted that companies previously were not entitled to such procedural protections during the CFIUS review process. "Nothing like this has ever been available," he said. "Transacting parties have had virtually no leverage.
 
In his interview with Bloomberg, Mr. Clark added that companies undergoing a CFIUS review will gain some advantage in preventing a transaction from being blocked because now they can get access to unclassified information used by the committee and try to rebut it, and they can also go public with that information.
 
Mr. Clark, who is Chair of Orrick’s International Trade & Compliance Group, was also interviewed on the same subject by China Daily and Law360.