United States of America: Entry into force with grace period of Foreign Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act (S 4322) through the engrossed Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 (HR 2617)

On 29 December 2022, the Foreign Merger Subsidy Disclosure Act entered into force after being signed into law by the US President on the same day. The Act was incorporated into the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023 (HR 2617) under Section 202, Mergers Involving Foreign Government Subsidies. The Act outlines merger disclosure requirements. Under the Act, the disclosure requirements will be implemented after the FTC, alongside the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice, issues a Rule outlining the notification obligations. The Act requires any company operating in the US that is planning to merge with another organisation to disclose the received economic support from a foreign state. In particular, the entities will be required to inform the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) about any financial involvement, including subsidies, ownership, tax concessions or procurements a foreign government has granted them.