Legislation Strengthens Oversight to Protect American Agriculture by Adding AG Secretary to CFIUS
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 to permanently add the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and provide the Secretary authority to flag all U.S. farmland acquisitions by foreign adversaries including China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. Yesterday, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) joined U.S. Senator Mike Braun (R-IN) in introducing the companion legislation in the Senate.
The House version, H.R.9456, was recently introduced by Congressman Dan Newhouse (R-WA-04) and passed today by a vote of 269-149.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have bowed to China every chance that they get—even when it comes to our agriculture industry,” said Senator Tuberville. “In the last decade alone, we have seen a surge of over 35% in foreign land purchases—including in my home state of Alabama. We can’t give our adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran room to negatively influence our agricultural supply chains and food production. Food security is national security, which is why I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Braun that ensures the Secretary of Agriculture has a seat at the table on CFIUS and the opportunity to push back on proposed foreign ag investments.”
The Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 would:
- Permanently include the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) with respect to covered transactions involving agricultural land, agricultural biotech, or the transportation, storage, and processing of agricultural products.
- Authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to report both agricultural land transactions that involve foreign persons of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran and transactions that require Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act(AFIDA) reporting to CFIUS.
U.S. Senators Tuberville and Braun were joined by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Barrasso (R-WY), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Katie Britt (R-AL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Fetterman (D-PA), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joe Manchin (I-WV), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Jon Tester (D-MT), and Todd Young (R-IN).
Read full text of the legislation here.
BACKGROUND:
Over the past few years, the United States has experienced a rapid increase in foreign investment in the agricultural sector, particularly from China. Growing foreign investment in agriculture and other essential industries, like health care and energy, threatens our country’s national security. As Alabama’s voice on the Senate AG Committee, Senator Tuberville has been sounding the alarm about foreign ownership of American farmland and other elements of our food supply chain.
According to USDA data from December 2022, foreign investors own approximately 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. Foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land modestly increased from 2012 to 2017 at an average rate of 0.6 million acres per year. However, since 2017, this number has skyrocketed to an annual average of 2.9 million acres. Additionally, between 2010 and 2022, entities or individuals from China increased their ownership of U.S. agricultural land more than twentyfold, from 13,720 acres to 346,915 acres. Alabama has the third-highest amount of foreign-owned agricultural land in the United States with 2.3 million acres; this figure represents an increase of over 514,000 foreign-held acres in Alabama in a single year.
In January, Senator Tuberville joined Senator Braun and 11 colleagues in introducing the AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024 to collect more information about foreign ownership of American farmland. In March 2023, Senators Tuberville and Braun introduced the Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act, which would prohibit the sale of U.S. agricultural land to any individual or entity tied to governments of Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia. Additionally, Senator Tuberville led a bipartisan, bicameral effort to protect America’s agricultural industry from improper foreign investment—the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act. In August 2022, Senators Tuberville and Cotton introduced the Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act to prohibit members of the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing land in the United States and set minimum penalties for foreign purchases that fail to comply with federal reporting requirements.
READ MORE:
Biden Ag Secretary Endorses Central Part Of Tuberville’s FARM Act
Second Democrat Ag Secretary Endorses Central Provision in Tuberville’s FARM Act
Tuberville, Colleagues Introduce Legislation To Curb CCP Influence In The U.S.
Tuberville Pushes DOD To Release List Of Chinese Military Companies Operating In U.S.
Sen. Tuberville Joins Fox Business To Discuss The Growing Threat Of China
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP Committees.
###
