The final two months of 2026 concentrate an unusual share of U.S. regulatory activity that affects Turkish companies — whether they already operate in the United States or are weighing market entry. This outlook sets out the dates and developments worth calendaring now, based on proceedings already underway and recurring year-end obligations.

CFIUS annual report to Congress (mid-November). The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States submits its annual report to Congress shortly after the federal fiscal year closes on September 30. The report routinely drives December scrutiny of specific transaction categories. Turkish acquirers in technology, infrastructure, and critical-minerals-adjacent sectors should assume heightened congressional attention on cross-border deals in these spaces and plan disclosure and mitigation language accordingly.

Section 301 comment period (through mid-November). The comment window opened by the late-October preliminary determination in the Section 301 investigation involving Türkiye closes in mid-November. Turkish exporters with U.S. customers should decide this month whether to file submissions — the record built now shapes the final determination and any subsequent action. No tariff change applies today; this is the moment to prepare positions, not to reprice contracts.

Pending merger reviews (November dockets). Several high-profile transactions pending before the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division reach the outer edge of their initial review windows in November. Companies with pending second requests should expect timing agreements to be tested against holiday schedules — a known source of December closing congestion.

Year-end government funding deadline. Federal funding legislation must be in place by mid-December to avoid a lapse in appropriations. A shutdown would pause routine agency action — merger clearance timelines, export licensing, and certain regulatory approvals stall. Companies with December closing dates should build contingency into their closing memoranda now.

Regulated-industry license transfers. The pattern we documented in August with the NRC's nuclear licence-transfer review repeats each December: agencies push to complete or formally carry over pending approvals before the calendar year closes. Turkish buyers in energy, telecommunications, and transportation should confirm every required approval in their closing conditions is either in hand or formally timed, and that automatic termination dates do not expire in the holiday gap.

Tax and payroll year-end items. U.S. entities of Turkish groups should confirm withholding, information reporting, and state registrations before the year-end rush — the first weeks of January are the costliest time to discover a missing registration or an unfiled annual report.

1. Map your December dependencies. Identify every approval, filing, and registration that must clear before January 1, and assign an owner to each.
2. Prepare Section 301 submissions if you export to the U.S. or supply U.S. customers — the comment record is where influence is cheapest.
3. Stress-test closing timelines for regulatory congestion; build shutdown and holiday contingencies into every December signing and closing.
4. Revisit CFIUS posture for any transaction in scope — annual-report season reliably produces follow-up questions for recent closings.

Q4 2026 is not a quiet quarter. Between the open Section 301 record, CFIUS annual-report season, funding-deadline risk, and year-end agency congestion, the regulatory calendar rewards preparation done in the first half of November. Turkish companies that calendar these dates now will close cleaner deals in December.

This publication is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.