---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 U.S.C. § 4589"
title: "50"
title_heading: "War and National Defense"
number: "4589"
heading: "Definitions"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/50/4589"
units:
  - "Chapter 55 — Defense Production"
  - "Subchapter IV — Prohibition and Notification on Investments Relating to Covered National Security Transactions"
---

# §4589. Definitions


In this subchapter:

- (1) **Appropriate congressional committees—** Except as provided in [section 4584(d) of this title](/usc/50/4584.md?p=d), the term “appropriate congressional committees” means—
  - (A) the Committee on Financial [Services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives; and
  - (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate.
- (2) **Country of concern—** The term “country of concern” means—
  - (A) the People’s Republic of China, including the Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions;
  - (B) the Republic of Cuba;
  - (C) the Islamic Republic of Iran;
  - (D) the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;
  - (E) the Russian Federation; and
  - (F) the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela under the regime of Nicolas Maduro Moros.
- (3) **Covered foreign person—** Subject to regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter, the term “covered foreign person” means a [foreign person](#5) that—
  - (A) is incorporated in, has a principal place of business in, or is organized under the laws of a [country of concern](#2);
  - (B) is a member of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist [Party](#8) or is a member of the political leadership of a [country of concern](#2);
  - (C) is subject to the direction or control of a [country of concern](#2), as defined by regulation, an entity described in subparagraph [(A)](#3-A) or [(B)](#3-B), or the state or the government of a [country of concern](#2) (including any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof); or
  - (D) is owned in the aggregate, directly or indirectly, 50 percent or more by a [country of concern](#2), an entity described in subparagraph [(A)](#3-A) or [(B)](#3-B), or the state or the government of a [country of concern](#2) (including any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof).
- (4) **Covered national security transaction—**
  - (A) **In general—** Subject to such regulations as may be issued in accordance with this subchapter, the term “covered national security transaction” means a [United States person](#12)’s direct or indirect—
    - (i) acquisition of an equity interest or contingent equity interest in a [covered foreign person](#3) that the [United States person](#12) [knows](#6) at the time of the acquisition is a [covered foreign person](#3);
    - (ii) provision of a loan or similar debt financing arrangement to a [covered foreign person](#3) that the [United States person](#12) [knows](#6) at the time of the provision is a [covered foreign person](#3), where such debt financing affords or will afford the [United States person](#12) an interest in profits of the [covered foreign person](#3), the right to appoint members of the board of directors (or equivalent) of the [covered foreign person](#3), or other comparable financial or governance rights characteristic of an equity investment but not typical of a loan;
    - (iii) entrance by such [United States person](#12) into a joint venture, wherever located, that is formed with a [person](#9) of a [country of concern](#2), and that the subject [United States person](#12) [knows](#6) at the time of entrance into the joint venture that the joint venture will engage, or plans to engage, in a [prohibited technology](#10-A) or [notifiable technology](#7-A);
    - (iv) conversion of a contingent equity interest (or interest equivalent to a contingent equity interest) or conversion of debt to an equity interest in a [covered foreign person](#3);
    - (v) acquisition, leasing, or other development of operations, land, property, or other assets in a [country of concern](#2) that the [United States person](#12) [knows](#6) at the time of such acquisition, leasing, or other development will result in, or that the [United States person](#12) plans to result in—
      - (I) the establishment of a [covered foreign person](#3); or
      - (II) the engagement of a [person](#9) of a [country of concern](#2) in a [prohibited technology](#10-A) or [notifiable technology](#7-A);
    - (vi) knowingly directing prohibited transactions or notifiable transactions by [foreign persons](#5) that the [United States person](#12) has [knowledge](#6) at the time of the transaction would constitute an activity described in clause [(i)](#4-A-i), [(ii)](#4-A-ii), [(iii)](#4-A-iii), [(iv)](#4-A-iv), or [(v)](#4-A-v), if engaged in by a [United States person](#12);
    - (vii) acquisition of a limited partner or equivalent interest in a venture capital fund, private equity fund, fund of funds, or other pooled investment fund (in each case where the fund is not a [United States person](#12)) that the [United States person](#12) has [knowledge](#6) at the time of the acquisition likely will invest in a [person](#9) of a [country of concern](#2) that is in one of the [notifiable technology](#7-A) or [prohibited technology](#10-A) sectors, and such fund undertakes a transaction that would be a [covered national security transaction](#4-A) if undertaken by a [United States person](#12); or
    - (viii) any other transaction identified by the [Secretary](#11), in consultation with the [appropriate congressional committees](#1) and subject to public notice and comment in accordance with subchapter II of [chapter 5](/usc/50/chch5.md) and [chapter 7](/usc/5/chptI/ch7.md) of title 5, and not subject to the requirements of [section 4559 of this title](/usc/50/4559.md), that is contributing to the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities of a [country of concern](#2).
  - (B) **Exceptions and clarifications—** Subject to regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter, the term “[covered national security transaction](#4-A)” does not include—
    - (i) any transaction the value of which the [Secretary](#11) determines is de minimis;
    - (ii) any category of transactions that the [Secretary](#11) determines is in the national interest of the United States;
    - (iii) an investment—
      - (I) in a security (as defined in [section 78c(a) of title 15](/usc/15/78c.md?p=a)) that is traded on an exchange or the over-the-counter market in any jurisdiction;
      - (II) in a security issued by an investment company (as defined in [section 80a–3 of title 15](/usc/15/80a–3.md)) that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or, if the [Secretary](#11) chooses to include it as an exception from a [covered national security transaction](#4-A), in a security issued by a non-United States investment company that is registered with a foreign regulator with comparable oversight standards and regulatory jurisdiction to the Securities and Exchange Commission as determined by the [Secretary](#11) of Treasury;
      - (III) made as a limited partner or equivalent in a venture capital fund, private equity fund, fund of funds, or other pooled investment fund (other than as described in [subclause (II)](#4-B-iii-II)) where—
        - (aa) the limited partner or equivalent’s committed capital is not more than a de minimis amount, as determined by the [Secretary](#11), aggregated across any investment and co-investment vehicles of the fund; or
        - (bb) the limited partner or equivalent has secured a binding contractual assurance that its capital in the fund will not be used to engage in a transaction that would be a [covered national security transaction](#4-A) if engaged in by a [United States person](#12); or
      - (IV) in a derivative of a security described under subclause [(I)](#4-B-iii-I), [(II)](#4-B-iii-II), or [(III)](#4-B-iii-III);
    - (iv) any [ancillary transaction](#4-C) undertaken by a financial institution (as defined in [section 5312 of title 31](/usc/31/5312.md));
    - (v) the acquisition by a [United States person](#12) of the equity or other interest owned or held by a [covered foreign person](#3) in an entity or assets located outside of a [country of concern](#2) in which the [United States person](#12) is acquiring the totality of the interest in the entity held by the [covered foreign person](#3);
    - (vi) an intracompany transfer of funds, as defined in regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter, from a United States parent company to a subsidiary located in a [country of concern](#2) or a transaction that, but for this clause, would be a [covered national security transaction](#4-A) between a [United States person](#12) and its controlled [foreign person](#5) that supports operations that are not [covered national security transactions](#4-A) or that maintains [covered national security transactions](#4-A) that the controlled [foreign person](#5) was engaged in prior to the effective date of the regulations implementing this subchapter;
    - (vii) a transaction secondary to a [covered national security transaction](#4-A), including—
      - (I) contractual arrangements (not including contractual arrangements for technology transfer or technical [knowledge](#6) transfer) or the procurement of material inputs for any [covered national security transaction](#4-A) (such as raw [materials](/usc/50/4552.md?p=13));
      - (II) bank lending;
      - (III) the processing, clearing, or sending of payments by a bank;
      - (IV) underwriting [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16) including, but not limited to, the temporary acquisition of an equity interest for the sole purpose of facilitating underwriting [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16);
      - (V) debt rating [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16);
      - (VI) prime brokerage;
      - (VII) global custody;
      - (VIII) equity research or analysis; or
      - (IX) other similar [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16);
    - (viii) any ordinary or administrative business transaction as may be defined in such regulations; or
    - (ix) any transaction completed before December 18, 2025.
  - (C) **Ancillary transaction defined—** In this paragraph, the term “ancillary transaction” means, subject to regulations prescribed by the [Secretary](#11)—
    - (i) the processing, settling, clearing, or sending of payments and cash transactions;
    - (ii) underwriting [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), including the temporary acquisition of an equity interest for the sole purpose of facilitating underwriting [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16);
    - (iii) credit rating [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16); and
    - (iv) other [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16) ordinarily incident to and part of the provision of financial [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), such as opening deposit accounts, direct custody [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), foreign exchange [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), remittances [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16), and safe deposit [services](/usc/50/4552.md?p=16).
- (5) **Foreign person—** The term “foreign person” has the meaning given that term in regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter.
- (6) **Knowledge; know—** The terms “knowledge” or “know” mean—
  - (A) actual [knowledge](#6) that a fact or circumstance exists or is substantially certain to occur;
  - (B) an awareness of a high probability of a fact or circumstance’s existence or future occurrence; or
  - (C) reason to [know](#6) of a fact or circumstance’s existence.
- (7) **Notifiable technology—**
  - (A) **In general—** Subject to the regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter, the term “notifiable technology” means a technology within the following areas not already captured by the technical thresholds specified by any regulations issued in accordance with [section 4581 of this title](/usc/50/4581.md):
    - (i) Semiconductor technology and microelectronics.
    - (ii) Artificial intelligence systems.
    - (iii) Quantum information technologies.
    - (iv) High-performance computing and supercomputing.
    - (v) Hypersonic systems.
  - (B) **Updates—** The [Secretary](#11), in consultation with the [appropriate congressional committees](#1) and subject to notice and comment in accordance with subchapter II of [chapter 5](/usc/50/chch5.md) and [chapter 7](/usc/5/chptI/ch7.md) of title 5, and not subject to the requirements of [section 4559 of this title](/usc/50/4559.md), may prescribe regulations in accordance with this subchapter to—
    - (i) define the technical parameters of technologies described in [subparagraph (A)](#7-A), as reasonably needed for national security purposes; or
    - (ii) to add and define categories to the list in [subparagraph (A)](#7-A) that enable the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities of a [country of concern](#2).
- (8) **Party—** The term “party”, with respect to a [covered national security transaction](#4-A), has the meaning given that term in regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter.
- (9) **Person—** The term “person” includes an individual, corporation, partnership, association, or any other organized group of persons, or legal successor or representative thereof, or any State or local government or agency thereof.
- (10) **Prohibited technology—**
  - (A) **In general—** Subject to the regulations prescribed in accordance with this subchapter, the term “prohibited technology” means a technology within the following areas, as specified by the regulations:
    - (i) Advanced semiconductor technology and microelectronics.
    - (ii) Artificial intelligence systems.
    - (iii) Quantum information technologies.
    - (iv) High-performance computing and supercomputing.
    - (v) Hypersonic systems.
  - (B) **Updates—** The [Secretary](#11), in consultation with the [appropriate congressional committees](#1) and subject to notice and comment in accordance with subchapter II of [chapter 5](/usc/50/chch5.md) and [chapter 7](/usc/5/chptI/ch7.md) of title 5, and not subject to the requirements of [section 4559 of this title](/usc/50/4559.md), may prescribe regulations in accordance with this subchapter to—
    - (i) define the technical parameters of technologies described in [subparagraph (A)](#10-A), as reasonably needed for national security purposes; or
    - (ii) to add and define categories to the list in [subparagraph (A)](#10-A) that enable the military, intelligence, surveillance, or cyber-enabled capabilities of a [country of concern](#2).
- (11) **Secretary—** Except as otherwise provided, the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Treasury.
- (12) **United States person—** The term “United States person” means—
  - (A) any United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States;
  - (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States (including any foreign branch of such an entity); or
  - (C) any [person](#9) in the United States.

## Source credit

(Sept. 8, 1950, ch. 932, title VIII, § 809, as added Pub. L. 119–60, div. H, title LXXXV, § 8521, Dec. 18, 2025, 139 Stat. 1931.)