Treasury Proposes Expanded Outbound Investment Rules Under COINS Act
Treasury's October 22, 2026 NPRM would broaden the federal outbound investment regime, a development that should prompt acquirers and fund managers to re-run national-security screening on live and pipeline deals.
On October 22, 2026, the U.S. Treasury issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to implement the Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security (COINS) Act, expanding the federal outbound investment framework. Because the measure is a draft open for public comment, the eventual scope — which covered technologies, sectors, covered persons, and transaction types trigger notification or prohibition, and what carve-outs apply — may shift before a final rule issues; the reporting available here does not detail the specific additions.
Counsel should care for a procedural reason: outbound investment rules operate at the diligence and closing stages, so an investment a business has already agreed to can require notice, face prohibition, or need restructuring after announcement. Multi-jurisdictional acquirers, private equity sponsors, and crossover funds with exposure to countries of concern may wish to refresh counterparty and U.S.-person screening, test portfolio concentration against new thresholds, and revisit disclosure to boards, lenders, and co-investors pending the final text.
What to watch next: the comment docket and any revisions Treasury makes, then implementation timing, enforcement posture, and guidance on how defined terms apply to ordinary corporate and fund transactions.