BIS nominee equipped to lead export enforcement

Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo supports confirmation of Jeffrey Nadaner to lead Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement and reform of Committee on Foreign Investment.    Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, on Tuesday expressed support for Jeffrey Nadaner, President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Industry and Security Office of Export Enforcement as the nominee expressed support for reforming the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
   During his confirmation hearing before the committee, Nadaner noted his more than two decades of experience in national security, industry and federal law.
   He is currently director of the U.S. Marine Corps B. Krulak Center of Innovation & Creativity, for which he works on “U.S.-foreign technology competitions,” cyber and informational threats, and military and security operations, he noted in his testimony.
   Nadaner previously worked for Lockheed Martin and several small businesses concentrating on aerospace and defense technology; mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures; and U.S. procurements and foreign exports, according to his testimony.
   “He is well-equipped to lead export enforcement for the Bureau of Industry and Security,” Crapo said.
   The White House announced Nadaner as the presumptive nominee on Feb. 5.
   Crapo noted that the committee is currently working “intensely” on CFIUS legislation, and Nadaner said consideration of the legislation is important, noting that “it’s been awhile” since CFIUS was last updated through legislation and that the global security landscape has changed since then.
   The Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007 officially established CFIUS by statutory authority, though the committee was created in 1975 via executive order.
   Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in November introduced the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017 to modernize CFIUS. Crapo’s committee held two January hearings on the legislation, which remains pending in Senate Banking.
   “One of the strengths for the American system has been a very strong CFIUS process for inbound investment and strong export control for expert technology, which can occur without the technology leaving the United States, if it touches foreign hands,” Nadaner said.
   He noted Monday’s enforcement action by the Commerce Department lifting the suspension of an export denial order on Chinese telecom company ZTE after BIS discovered the company paid bonuses to employees involved in illegal conduct.
   “There is more that can be done,” Nadaner said. “So if confirmed, my goal will be to look at resources, authorities, responsibilities, to try and make the right priorities, so that we have meaningful enforcement.”