New Bill Aims to Attract Foreign Cash for Tech Jobs, Puts Commerce Secretary in Charge of Defining 'Trusted' Investors

The Global Investment in American Jobs Act of 2025 is all about getting more high-quality foreign money into the U.S. economy, specifically targeting sectors like AI, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. Think of it as a strategic recruitment drive: the U.S. wants to roll out the red carpet for companies from countries it trusts, while slamming the door shut on investments connected to foreign adversaries, particularly those influenced by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Who Gets the VIP Pass?

This is where the bill gets interesting—and a little tricky. The entire strategy hinges on the definitions laid out in Section 2. A company only gets the green light if it’s a “responsible private sector entity” from a “trusted country.” Who decides who’s responsible and who’s trusted? The Secretary of Commerce. This gives the Secretary massive authority to decide which foreign firms can easily invest here and which ones can’t. If you’re an investor or an American company looking for foreign capital, your access to that money could depend entirely on the Secretary’s determination. The bill makes it clear that the Secretary must exclude any entity owned, controlled, or influenced by a foreign adversary.

The Trade-Off: Roadblocks vs. Standards

Congress’s stated goal (Sec. 3) is to remove “unnecessary roadblocks” to make the U.S. the best place for these trusted foreign companies to invest, hire, and manufacture. For a small tech startup, this could mean easier access to the capital needed to hire engineers and expand operations. For a construction worker, it could mean new factory projects funded by international firms. However, Congress also stresses that this push for investment cannot lower the standard of living for Americans, or compromise our security, labor, consumer, or environmental protections (Sec. 4). This creates a tension: how do you aggressively remove roadblocks without weakening the standards that protect American workers and the environment? That’s the tightrope the Commerce Department will have to walk.

A Year-Long Deep Dive into Global Money

The core action of this bill is a massive, year-long review (Sec. 4) led by the Secretary of Commerce and the Comptroller General. They have one year to figure out exactly how the U.S. can become more competitive in attracting this “trusted” foreign direct investment (FDI). This review is comprehensive: it needs to look at everything from how FDI affects U.S. jobs and supply chains to what state and local governments are doing right. Crucially, the review must specifically analyze the problems caused by investments from state-owned or state-backed enterprises from directed economies, explicitly targeting the CCP’s influence.

What They Won't Touch

It’s important to note what the review won’t do: it specifically excludes looking into the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is the existing inter-agency body that vets foreign investments for national security risks. By carving out CFIUS, this bill creates a separate, parallel track focused on economic promotion and strategic exclusion, rather than a holistic national security review. While the review process includes public input before recommendations are finalized, the heavy lifting of defining who’s in and who’s out remains squarely with the Secretary of Commerce, giving that office considerable power over the flow of international capital into the American job market.