Governments Spurn Foreign Investment

Governments all over the globe are increasing restrictions on foreign investments, raising worries in the US that new limits will check international economic growth. The motivations for the newly imposed and impending limits are complex, mixing worries over national security, backlash against rampant globalization, and perhaps a measure of retaliation against US restrictions already in place, the Journal reports.

Global capital movement appears unimpeded, but the fear is that a few countries' restrictions on foreign investments could set off a domino effect, with other nations following suit in an attempt to level the playing field. A US official recently dispatched to Russia and China to lobby against new restrictions says: "Perhaps the greatest challenge is rising investment protectionism." (More globalization stories.)