Senator Seeks CFIUS Review of Ammunition Maker's Sale to Czech Firm
Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to investigate the proposed sale of Vista Outdoor’s Sporting Products business to Czechoslovak Group (CSG), saying the transaction could endanger national security by transferring an American manufacturer of firearms ammunition to a “Kremlin-linked” foreign company.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
In a Jan. 24 letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs CFIUS, Vance said the sale involves “hallmark” American brands, such as Remington, Federal and CCI, as well as four U.S. factories. He expressed concern that CSG has a “long and troubling record,” including alleged ties to Russian authorities.
“Without question, ammunition manufacturing is a strategic sector that warrants a far higher level of scrutiny” under foreign investment laws, Vance wrote. “We cannot afford for America’s supply of weapons to fall into the wrong hands.”
In a statement, CSG investment director and board member David Stepan denied Vance’s allegations, saying his company sells its products to NATO and EU countries, works with major Western defense contractors, and was an early supplier to Ukraine following Russia’s invasion in February 2022. “None of this would be possible for a company with ties to Russia,” Stepan said.
Vista Outdoor said in a statement that it "has voluntarily filed the transaction with CFIUS and is looking forward to working with everyone involved toward a comprehensive review." Treasury didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Vista announced the $1.9 billion sale in October, saying it would fulfill a previously disclosed plan to split the Minnesota-based company into two businesses. In the sale announcement, Sporting Products CEO Jason Vanderbrink said that CSG “is fully committed to our iconic American brands and expanding our legacy of U.S. manufacturing, support for military and law enforcement customers, and investments in conservation and our hunting and shooting heritage.”
In December, Vance joined two other Republican senators in a letter urging CFIUS to block the proposed acquisition of U.S. Steel Corp by Japan-based Nippon Steel Corp., saying U.S. Steel is an "icon of American industry" whose takeover by a foreign firm would have “dire implications” for the U.S. industrial base (see 2312200056).