United States: Inward/ Foreign Investment

US M&A activity surged 49% in the first half of 2026, driven by megadeals and AI infrastructure buildout. How are artificial intelligence investments reshaping cross-border dealmaking between the United States, Canada, Japan, and other global markets? What sectors are leading this unprecedented wave of consolidation?

Europe's defense sector is experiencing a major transformation as nations commit to increasing defense spending to 5% of GDP, creating unprecedented investment opportunities across manufacturing, infrastructure, and technology. This analysis examines the key trends reshaping the market, from AI and autonomous systems to evolving regulatory frameworks and foreign investment screening. Understanding how competition law, export controls, and compliance requirements intersect will be critical for investors seek

The IRS has issued Notice 2026-40 to address the transition from the expiring Qualified Opportunity Zone program under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to the new framework established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. This guidance provides critical safe harbors and compliance pathways for investors and qualified opportunity zone businesses navigating the shift from QOZ 1.0 to QOZ 2.0, including specific relief for projects that began before 2026 but will continue development beyond the original program'

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed sweeping changes to the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act that would dramatically expand what qualifies as agricultural land, eliminate key reporting exemptions, and impose stricter penalties on foreign investors. The proposed rule reframes AFIDA as a national security measure rather than a data-collection exercise, potentially affecting institutional investors, renewable energy developers, and even U.S. entities with upstream foreign ownership. W

We work with many international companies and entrepreneurs doing business in the United States. For anyone entering the U.S. market, choosing a state of formation is a threshold decision— one that carries significant...

Joint ventures have become a key feature of the rapidly evolving defense landscape. Flexible structures that often prioritize operational outcomes over technology ownership are enabling collaborations between primes, disruptors...

The IRS and Treasury have released new proposed regulations under Section 892, revising applicability dates for previously proposed rules from 2025 that govern debt acquisitions and the "effective control" standard for foreign government investments. These revised dates include transition rules designed to protect existing and committed investments from the more stringent 2025 standards, while the preamble signals potential substantive changes to address market concerns.

The fragile Turnberry trade truce between the US and EU faces mounting pressure from Brussels' digital sovereignty agenda, including the Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act that Washington views as discriminatory.

Foley’s New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) team attended the recent Cohn Reznick NMTC Summit in Miami, where community development entities (CDEs), investors, project sponsors...