Chile Investment Screening Mechanism

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to carry out a project to raise awareness about the benefits of investment screening for national security. Most OECD-member countries have a mechanism for reviewing foreign direct investments to safeguard sensitive sectors, critical infrastructure, and national security, while Chile does not. Chile, nevertheless, is a similarly principled partner and regional leader on a variety of multilateral initiatives. The project seeks to engage public and private sector stakeholders to promote investment screening as an essential national security tool.

Chile lacks an investment screening mechanism to review foreign direct investments, particularly investments made by foreign state-owned enterprises (SOEs). SOEs leverage the lack of investment screening and Chile’s position as one of South America’s most stable economies to expand influence in Chile’s critical minerals, energy, telecommunications sectors, and critical infrastructure. Given the interconnected nature of global digital and critical infrastructure, this creates vulnerabilities for security interests in Chile and the region.

This project promotes an end goal of Chile having an investment screening mechanism that is effective and enforced. The investment screening mechanism will better equip Chile to identify and prevent emerging threats and malign influence.

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