The US government has launched its first federal initiative to promote foreign investment in the US following the furore over a US acquisition by Dubai Ports World last year.

Last year US politicians forced Dubai Ports World from the United Arab Emirates to abandon its bid to buy six US seaports as part of its acquisition of UK shipping company P&O after a committee on foreign investments in the US had approved the deal. Senators claimed there was a security risk because two of the 9/11 hijackers were United Arab Emirates nationals, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations claimed the money used for the attacks went through the country's banking system.