Foreign Companies

Foreign-led consortia have won bids for some PPPs in the United States and are likely to continue to do so, based on their international experience and expertise with such projects. Concerns about foreign concessionaires or operators of U.S. transportation facilities mainly involve foreign control of domestic assets, national security issues, and potential federal preemption of state and local authority in cases involving international trade issues.79 To address some of these concerns, Arizona law requires that foreign companies in PPP concessions be certified to do business in the state (see Appendix B).80 Other stakeholders, however, point to the benefits of attracting foreign investment for U.S. infrastructure and drawing on international innovations in project delivery. In addition, foreign-led consortia may include direct equity investors from the United States as well as up to hundreds of domestic subcontracting firms, and many U.S. pensions have invested in non-U.S. investment funds, thus "blurring the line between foreign and domestic interests."81