热点聚焦-特朗普要从微软收购TikTok交易中分一杯羹可能面临法律挑战

1 人赞同了该文章

Trump's bid for a piece of Microsoft-TikTok deal could spur legal action

特朗普要从微软收购TikTok交易中分一杯羹 可能面临法律挑战

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump's unprecedented demand that the United States get a cut of the proceeds from the forced sale of Chinese internet giant ByteDance's short-video app TikTok is based on an interpretation of U.S law that regulatory lawyers say may be open to challenges.

华盛顿(路透)-美国总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)史无前例地要求美国从中国互联网巨头字节跳动的短视频应用TikTok的强制销售中分得一杯羹,这是基于对美国法律的解读,监管律师表示,美国法律可能面临挑战。

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a U.S. government panel that reviews deals for potential national security risks, has given ByteDance until Sept. 15 to negotiate a sale of TikTok to Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), amid concerns over the safety of personal data that the app handles under its Chinese parent.

美国海外投资委员会(CFIUS)是美国政府的一个专门审查潜在国家安全风险交易的委员会,它允许字节跳动在9月15日之前商定将TikTok出售给微软(MSFT.O)的交易,担心在中国母公司管理下TikTok的个人数据存在安全问题。

Microsoft has said it is seeking to buy the assets of TikTok in North America, Australia and New Zealand. It has not disclosed how much it is willing to pay, though sources previously told Reuters that ByteDance executives value all of TikTok at more than $50 billion.

微软表示,它正在寻求收购TikTok在北美、澳大利亚和新西兰的资产。微软没有透露愿意支付多少,不过消息人士此前告诉路透称,字节跳动高管对TikTok的全部估值超过500亿美元。

“A very substantial portion of that price is going to have to come into the Treasury of the United States because we're making it possible for this deal to happen,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

特朗普周一对记者表示:“美国财政部应该从TikTok美国业务的出售交易中获得很大一部分资金,因为我们正在使这笔交易成为可能。”

CFIUS legislation gives the U.S. government broad authority to seek mitigation from companies that are jeopardizing national security, legal experts said.

法律专家称,美国海外投资委员会的法案赋予美国政府广泛的权力,寻求降低威胁国家安全的企业的破坏性。 

While CFIUS has never before sought a cut from the proceeds of a divestiture it has ordered, the White House could argue that imposing a fee on Bytedance would deprive it of resources that would otherwise support China's government on technology initiatives that could harm U.S. interests, some of the legal experts added.

一些法律专家补充称,尽管美国海外投资委员会此前从未要求从其下令的资产剥离收益中索取一部分资金,但白宫可能会辩称,向字节跳动收取费用将剥夺其资源,而这些资源原本会支持中国政府采取可能损害美国利益的技术举措。

“It's certainly inconsistent with the intent of Congress ... and with CFIUS's long-standing concern to maintain a reputation for acting apolitically and solely on grounds of national security, but it's not clear that it's outside the president's statutory authority,” said Paul Marquardt, a regulatory lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb.

“这肯定与国会的想法不一致...也不符合美国海外投资委员会长久以来的考量,即维持超然于政治之外、完全基于国家安全考虑的声誉;但目前还不清楚那么做是否超出总统法定权力。”Cleary Gottlieb监管法规律师Paul Marquardt说。

The White House, the Treasury Department, Bytedance and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

白宫,财政部,字节跳动和微软没有立即回应记者的置评请求。

U.S. law states that presidential decisions blocking deals on national security grounds are not subject to judicial reviews. However, a legal challenge is possible under the fifth amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits the government from seizing property without just compensation, as well as other laws, legal experts said.

美国法律规定,总统基于国安理由而阻止交易的决定不必受司法检视。然而,法律专家表示,依据美国宪法第五修正案提出法律挑战是可能的。宪法第五修正案与其他法律一样,禁止政府不提供公平补偿就没收财产。

While a previous fifth amendment challenge to a CFIUS order had limited success, this would be the first time a challenge could be mounted against the U.S. government imposing a deal fee, the experts added.

专家们补充称,尽管此前第五修正案对美国海外投资委员会命令的质疑成效有限,但这将是首次对美国政府征收交易费提出质疑。

“This is akin to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act but on U.S. soil, where the U.S. government would be able to require what is tantamount to a bribe in order to obtain a regulatory approval for a business transaction,” DLA Piper lawyer Nicholas Klein said.

DLA Piper的律师Nicholas Klein表示:“这类似于《海外反腐败法》,但在美国本土,美国政府可以要求相当于贿赂的东西,以获得商业交易的监管批准。”

It is not clear if Trump will make good on his demand for a slice of the TikTok deal proceeds. “I'm not sure it's a specific concept that will be followed through,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business News on Tuesday.

尚不清楚特朗普是否会贯彻他的要求,从TikTok交易中分得一杯羹。白宫国家经济委员会主任拉里·库德洛(Larry Kudlow)在周二福克斯商业频道表示:“我不确定这是否是一个能最终实现的具体的想法。”

(英文来源:Reuters)

 

相关知识拓展:

1.美国海外投资委员会(英语:Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States,简称CFIUS)是美国联邦政府的一个跨部会委员会,其职能为审查一切关乎美国的外国对美投资。该委员会由美国财政部长担任主席,CFIUS包括来自美国16个部门和机构的代表,其中包括国防部、国务院、商务部以及(最近)国土安全部。关于CFIUS的法律规定可参见《1950年国防生产法案》的第721节。所有有外国公司参与收购的美国公司的提议案都应自愿通知CFIUS,但CFIUS可以审查非自愿提交的交易。CFIUS在众多审查中重点关注的是是否有由于被外国收购方收购,被收购的美国企业的技术或资金可能会转移到被美国制裁的国家的可能。CFIUS密切关注关键基础设施的收购,包括公共卫生或电信等。

 

2.美国财政部(英语:United States Department of the Treasury)是美国政府一个内阁部门。它是由美国国会于1789年建立,作为管理美国政府的收入。1775年,美国司库办公室由大陆会议创建,是美国财政部的前身。1789年9月2日,美国财政部正式创立。亚历山大·汉密尔顿成为第一任财政部部长。美国财政部处理美国联邦的财政事务、征税、发行债券、偿付债务、监督通货发行,制定和建议有关经济、财政、税务及国库收入的政策,进行国际财务交易。财政部长在总统内阁官员中居第二位,也是国际货币基金组织、国际复兴开发银行、美洲国家开发银行、亚洲国家开发银行的美方首脑。值得一提的是,财政部还负责美国总统及其家属的保安工作,这在世界各国可以说是绝无仅有的。

(美国财政部官网:http://www.ustreas.gov/)

 

3.《海外反腐败法》(英语:Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,缩写为FCPA,又被翻译称为反海外贿赂法),是一部美国联邦法律,其主要条款有两个:反贿赂条款和会计帐目条款。前者根据1934年证券交易法规定账目透明度的要求,而后者明确了向外国官员行贿的行为。《海外反腐败法》适用于与美国有一定程度的关系,同时又参与了国外(对美国而言)腐败行为的任何个人。该法案也适用于任何美国公司或在美国进行证券交易的国外公司,以及任何促进国外腐败行为的美国国民、公民及居民,而不论他(她)们是否身在美国。对于国外的自然人和法人,如果他(她)们的腐败行为发生时其人身在美国,则也适用该法案。此外,此法案不仅规范了给国外官员、候选人或政党的不当支付,也规范了给其他任何人的支付,如果这笔支付最终形成了对官员的贿赂。这些所谓支付,不仅包括货币形式,也包括任何有价值之物。

发布于 2020-08-05 11:34:38
还没有评论
    旗渡客服