THE CFIUS QUAGMIRE

Excitement greeted a US regulatory panel's approval of ChemChina's record $43 billion purchase of Syngenta last August. Bankers and lawyers were optimistic the decision by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Cfius), in the face of fierce criticism over the deal's impact on US food security, would bode well for future deals. That excitement was replaced by concern when Donald Trump won the November presidential election on a platform full of protectionist rhetoric and anti- China tub-thumping. Five months in, decisions are already being delayed. In part that's because the Trump administration has yet to fill key vacancies at several of the government agencies that make up Cfius. Meanwhile doubts over whether Trump's Cfius will approve deals has increased uncertainty among both buyers and sellers in US-China transactions.