The US Court of Appeals on Tuesday struck down a lower court’s decision, saying Ralls had the right to unclassified evidence on why the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or Cfius, had rejected its bid for the wind farms near a Naval base in Oregon. Cfius is made up of the Department of Defence, Homeland Security and other agencies, and is overseen by the Treasury department.
Ralls, which is owned by Chinese industrial conglomerate Sany Group, sued the US government in 2012, including President Barack Obama, in the first legal challenge to a Cfius decision. The Obama administration had also ordered that Ralls, which had already closed the deal, divest the wind farms and remove all Ralls or Sany assets from the property. The Department of Justice is reviewing the appeals ruling.
“It’s a big process decision because it means companies may now have the opportunity to see unclassified facts and explain how they might be able to mitigate those concerns,” said Tim Keeler, former chief of staff at the US Trade Representative office and a partner at Mayer Brown.