Raanan Horowitz, CEO of Elbit Systems of America, has said he believes the U.S. needs to strike a balance between the need to ensure national security and advance foreign investment and that the country’s industrial base policy could help support such a balance.
“The policy must focus on promoting investments and exchange of technology with key trusted allies and partners, while prioritizing the way we approach security concerns associated with foreign investments,†Horowitz wrote in a National Defense article published Monday.
He said the U.S. government should draft investment policies with allies and competitors in mind and consider two elements when reforming the evaluation of foreign investments for national security risks.
“First, U.S. government oversight and visibility into investments should be enhanced, but enacted in coordination with more nuanced risk and tailored mitigation policies,†Horowitz wrote.
“Second, investment oversight should clearly and predictably distinguish between countries, allowing the government to leverage the contributions and interests of trusted allies while applying heavier scrutiny to troubling investments from adversaries.â€
Horowitz added that opening up international investments to the same level of scrutiny applied to adversaries would hamper the development of warfighting capabilities, undermine the U.S. industrial base and innovation and reduce access to technologies developed by trusted allies and partners.
Â
