Sheinbaum sends foreign investment reform to Senate with proposed national security filter

President Claudia Sheinbaum has asked Mexico’s Senate to reform the Foreign Investment Law, proposing a new national security review for acquisitions by foreign capital.

The initiative would change the role of the National Foreign Investment Commission, or CNIE. Instead of assessing transactions only through economic criteria, the commission would gain a specialized mechanism to identify, mitigate or block deals that could threaten Mexico’s strategic interests.

Under a proposed new section on national security and foreign investment, a foreign investor seeking to hold more than 49% of a Mexican company would need CNIE approval if the company exceeded an asset threshold to be established later and operated in a strategic activity.

The proposal keeps Mexico open to foreign investment but gives the state the power to review, condition or stop acquisitions when foreign control could affect critical infrastructure, strategic technologies, essential supplies or sensitive information. The areas listed include energy, transport, health, communications, mining, data processing and storage, digital systems, aerospace and defense activities, as well as sensitive facilities and property needed for those infrastructures.

The initiative also identifies artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors, cybersecurity, aerospace and defense technologies, energy storage, quantum and nuclear technology, nanotechnology and biotechnology as critical technologies. It extends the review to essential inputs, food security and personal data. The CNIE could add similar activities or sectors through a general resolution.