instaPoll: Do you believe the purchase of Smithfield Foods, Inc. necessitates CFIUS review and investigation to ensure the safety and security of America’s citizens?

On May 29, 2013 Smithfield Foods, Inc. and Shuanghui International Holdings Limited announced that they have entered into a merger agreement.  Smithfield Foods is a $13 billion company and the world's largest pork processor and pig producer, while Shuanghui International and its subsidiaries are the majority shareholders of China's largest meat processing enterprise. This $4.7 billion transaction, if approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, will be the largest to date of a U.S. corporation by a Chinese Enterprise.  The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency organization that oversees the national security implications of foreign investment in the U.S. economy.  Under current law, CFIUS has 30 days to conduct a review, 45 days to conduct an investigation, and then the President has 15 days to make his ultimate determination of whether a deal threatens to impair the national security. The President is the only officer with the authority to suspend or prohibit mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers.  As the largest takeover of a U.S. company by a Chinese buyer, I formally requested a briefing from CFIUS regarding the potential impacts of this merger on national security, the economic market, and international trade, as well as the review and investigative process CFIUS would undertake in such a case.  Question of the week:  Do you believe that this purchase necessitates CFIUS review and investigation to ensure the safety and security of America's citizens, as well as the preservation of national economic interests, food safety, and environmental standards? (  ) Yes. (  ) No. (  ) I don't know. (  ) Other.  Take the instaPoll here. Find the results of last week's instaPoll here.

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