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Lawmakers press Treasury on COINS Act implementation and outbound investment screening
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Summary
Members pressed Treasury on implementing the COINS Act (in the NDAA), statutory timelines for rulemaking, coordination with OFAC, and how national-interest exemptions will be used to allow beneficial outbound investments.
Several lawmakers used the oversight hearing to press Treasury on the newly codified outbound-investment authorities in the National Defense Authorization Act (the COINS Act). Representative Andy Barr, who led the COINS language in the NDAA, told Assistant Secretary Chris Pilkerton the statute gives Treasury a 450-day window to issue rules and asked what timeline the department will follow; Pilkerton confirmed the rulemaking will be a standard notice-and-comment process and acknowledged the 450-day statutory period.
Barr and other members highlighted that the statute includes a national-interest exemption that could allow certain strategic outbound transactions to proceed. Pilkerton said Treasury will implement the COINS Act in a manner that balances national-security constraints with opportunities that benefit the U.S., and that Treasury will coordinate closely with the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on aspects of sanctions and list coordination.
Members also pointed to recent outbound examples — including investments in port infrastructure and technology acquisitions — as reasons the committee must ensure the rules do not unintentionally block transactions that advance U.S. competitiveness. Pilkerton agreed that the regulatory design should avoid unnecessarily inhibiting outbound deals that are consistent with national-security objectives and said Treasury will provide public guidance during rulemaking.
