Foreign investment regulation in 2026: navigating economic security and deal certainty

Foreign investment regulation has entered a decisive new era. With governments worldwide recalibrating screening regimes around the doctrine that “economic security is national security”, foreign investment screening is no longer a static, pre-closing clearance exercise—it has become a continuous, strategic feature of deal planning that directly impacts transaction certainty, timetable, and execution. 

The 14^th edition of Lexology’s In-Depth: Foreign Investment Regulation, co-edited by Freshfields Partner Alex Potter along with Calvin Goldman KC, explores this shifting landscape and offers essential cross-border guidance for investors.

Drawing on insights from Freshfields’ market-leading foreign investment specialists alongside leading local practitioners across key jurisdictions, the edition highlights several transformative trends:

• United States and North America: regimes are shifting from transactional review bodies to ongoing enforcement and supervisory authorities. Regulatory exposure increasingly endures well past closing through post-closing monitoring, mitigation audits, and divestment enforcement, with heightened scrutiny falling on minority stakes, critical minerals, and sensitive technologies 
• European Union: the EU’s FDI screening regulation enters into force with mandatory regimes for defined strategic sectors—from AI and semiconductors to critical raw materials—while Member States including Italy and Spain make active, defensive use of veto powers in both foreign and intra-European transactions.
• United Kingdom: the National Security and Investment Act continues to mature as one of Europe’s most active regimes, with evolving sector scopes (including standalone water, critical minerals, and semiconductor definitions) and an established track record of remedies and interventions. 
• Extraterritorial reach: authorities such as China’s NDRC are actively asserting jurisdiction over foreign-to-foreign transactions where critical domestic technology or nexus risks are engaged. 

For dealmakers, the takeaway is clear: foreign investment analysis cannot be an afterthought. Evaluating political sensitivities, jurisdictional reach and post-closing operational restrictions from day one is now as fundamental to cross-border M&A as merger control.

If you would like to discuss any issues raised in this year’s guide or have questions about foreign investment regulation in general, please do not hesitate to contact your usual Freshfields contact or a member of our antitrust & regulatory group. If you would like a copy of the guide, you can make a request here.

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