US Eyes Restrictions on Foreign Purchases of Farmland
The Trump administration plans to take several steps to address foreign ownership of American farmland, including pursuing congressional and state legislation and executive action to ban purchases by China and other foreign “adversaries,” USDA announced July 8.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
At a press conference with leaders of several other departments, including the Pentagon, DHS and DOJ, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said she not only wants to restrict future transactions but also to “claw back what has already been purchased by China and other foreign adversaries.” Later, at a White House meeting of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet, Rollins said Chinese ownership of farmland near U.S. military bases raises national security concerns.
Other actions USDA intends to take include signing an agreement to ensure the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. coordinates with the department when it reviews agricultural transactions.
USDA also plans to create an online filing system for the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA), which requires foreign buyers of U.S. farmland to report their transactions to USDA. The civil penalty for "late and knowingly false" filings will increase. A new online portal will allow farmers, ranchers and others to report failures to comply with AFIDA.
Several proposals to address foreign purchases of farmland are pending in Congress. Among the most promising is a bill the House passed in June that would make USDA a permanent member of CFIUS for agricultural transactions (see 2506240031). Sens. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., are expected to push for the bill in the Senate, a person familiar with the legislation told Export Compliance Daily July 9.