First on FOX: Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are coming together to crack down on land in the continent of Chinese support companies.
It comes as the Trump administration appears on the cliff of the trade war with Beijing as China has pledged to retaliate against what it called “arbitrarily” tariffs from Washington.
“It is the US interest to review the purchase of American farmland by foreign companies to protect agriculture and agricultural production from foreign enemies, particularly China,” House Republican Rep. R-Iowa, who leads the bill, told Fox News Digital.
“However, for too long, our government has repeatedly failed to enforce the laws of the book, monitor foreign purchases of farmland, and assess financial punishments for those who violate the law.”
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President Donald Trump, left, Chinese President Xi Jinping (Getty)
The bill is also D-Mich, led by Rep. Kristen MacDonald Rivett. and is led in the Senate by Senator Joni Ernst of R-Iowa.
The US Foreign Investment Commission directs agencies tasked with analyzing the national security impact of certain foreign investments in the US and reviews purchases of American farmland by foreign companies over 320 acres or $5 million.
The bill also aims to establish a public database of foreign ownership of US farmland through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), requiring the Agriculture Secretary to partner with the Secretary of Homeland Security in its annual threat assessment report on foreign ownership of US farmland.
“Allowing China and other foreign competitors to buy large strips of American farmland puts our national security and food supply at risk,” McDonald Rivet told Fox News Digital. “This bill is an important step to protecting American interests from putting it into the hands of bad actors overseas, especially China.”
The Northrop Grumman facility is located at Grand Forks Air Force Base near Grand Forks, North Dakota. Plans for Chinese companies to buy nearby land have been blocked. (Benbrewer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ernst “denounced the US government's “outdated system” for allowing China's malignant influence to threaten our security by acquiring lands in our country.
“I draw a line in the sand, overhaul this flawed thing, increase reporting and transparency, increase surveillance of the impact of foreign enemies, and force the sale of foreign-owned land,” Ernst said.
Although no foreign countries own US land directly, Chinese support companies own only a portion of US farmland. This has been rising quite a bit in recent years.
A 2023 plan by the Chinese company Fufeng Group to buy land near a delicate military base in Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Canadians are “fed up,” says Alberta lawyers, who will lead a delegation to Washington for a state talk.
According to a 2021 USDA report, ownership of Chinese companies in US farmland increased by 30% between 2019 and 2020.
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Meanwhile, China recently warned that it was ready for a war on export tax with the US after President Donald Trump imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese goods a few days after returning to his second term.
“If war is what the US wants, then whether it's a tariff war, a trade war, or another kind of war, we're ready to fight to the end,” the Chinese embassy posted on X.
China-backed companies currently own 384,000 acres of US farmland, according to latest government data.
