Senators have introduced legislation to increase scrutiny of foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland and agricultural industries.
The bill, spearheaded by Republican Sen. Mike Braun of Indiana, adds the secretary of agriculture as a permanent member to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
The agriculture secretary’s role at CFIUS will cover transactions involving agricultural land and agricultural biotech or the transportation, storage and processing of agricultural products.
Additionally, the legislation would require a CFIUS review of farmland purchases by adversarial nations such as China, North Korea, Russia and Iran.
The bill authorizes the secretary of agriculture to report both agricultural land transactions that involve foreign nationals from China, North Korea, Russia or Iran, and transactions that require Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act reporting to CFIUS.
The Senate bill is companion legislation to an earlier House bill introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse, Washington Republican. The House is expected to take up that bill this week.
Lawmakers say the legislation will add much-needed extra oversight. According to the USDA, over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land is foreign-owned.
Mr. Braun said that Chinese ownership of American farmland increased more than 20-fold in the past decade.
“The amount of American soil in the hands of our foreign adversaries will only go up if we do not implement restrictions and oversight, especially on nations that compromise our national security and agricultural supply chains,” he said. “I’m proud to lead this effort to protect American farms and food security.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Alabama Republican, faulted President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris for not doing enough in this area. He said they “bowed to China every chance that they get — even when it comes to our agriculture industry.”
“In the last decade alone, we have seen a surge of over 35% in foreign land purchases — including in my home state of Alabama,” Mr. Tuberville said. “We can’t give our adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran room to negatively influence our agricultural supply chains and food production.”
Sen. Jon Tester, Montana Democrat, said that allowing foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to purchase U.S. farmland is “Unacceptable.”
“Allowing foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party to purchase American farmland and agribusiness poses an unacceptable risk to our food security and national security,” Mr. Tester said. “Congress needs to act, and our bipartisan bill will secure much-needed oversight to help stop bad actors who want to undermine our country.”
Lawmakers raised red flags about foreign investment in farmland early in the year after reports that Chinese companies buying land near military bases.
Over 20 states already prohibit or partially restrict nonresident aliens, foreign businesses and foreign governments from acquiring or owning an interest in private agricultural land in their state.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.