Treasury proposes rule to expand outbound investment screening under COINS Act
Treasury has issued a proposed rule implementing Subtitle C of the newly enacted COINS Act, which gives statutory footing to the Outbound Investment Security Program first created by executive order in 2023. The rule rewrites the existing framework, adds new covered technologies and countries, and creates a new Part 851 while leaving Part 850 in force for past conduct.
- Written comments on the proposed rule must be received by December 7, 2026.
- The rule adds two new covered technology sectors: high-performance computing/supercomputing and hypersonic systems.
- Countries of concern expand beyond the PRC, Hong Kong and Macau to include Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia and Venezuela under Nicolás Maduro Moros.
- A new §851.104(c) knowledge-standard factor will consider whether a U.S. person appropriately weighed information Treasury provided before a transaction.
- Treasury reports receiving approximately 100 notifications under the existing program in the roughly 21 months since it took effect on January 2, 2025.