Lawmakers seek crackdown on China-owned U.S. farmland

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President Trump's face-to-face gathering this week with Chinese President Xi Jinping comes arsenic members of Congress are calling for a crackdown connected China's quality to get U.S. farmland, citing nationalist information concerns.

Mr. Trump arrived successful Beijing connected Wednesday for a highly anticipated acme with Xi, which is expected to focus connected trade, energy, Taiwan and the warfare with Iran. Ahead of his visit, a bipartisan radical of lawmakers introduced caller authorities that aims to adjacent what they described arsenic "dangerous loopholes" allowing overseas adversaries similar China to acquisition American farmland and existent property adjacent U.S. subject bases.

"Food information is nationalist security, and we cannot let overseas adversaries similar China to bargain up American farmland adjacent our astir delicate subject and captious infrastructure sites," Rep. John Moolenaar, a Michigan Republican who heads the Select Committee connected China and led the bill's introduction, said successful a statement.

The measure has backing from members of some parties, with Democrats specified arsenic New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer and California Reps. Julia Brownley, Jimmy Panetta and Mike Thompson signing on.

A Trump medication authoritative told CBS News that tracking overseas onshore ownership continues to beryllium a priority, including reviewing however states compile information connected the matter.

More than 40 cardinal acres of cultivation onshore successful the U.S., astir 2% of the nation's total, is owned by overseas entities, according to the latest appraisal by the Department of Agriculture arsenic of December 2024. Chinese investments magnitude to little than 1% of foreign-held onshore successful the U.S.

Last February, President Trump signed a nationalist information memorandum that sought to restrict Chinese investments successful strategical U.S. sectors, including technology, healthcare and agriculture. White House spokesperson Olivia Wales told CBS News that Mr. Trump "is committed to making the United States a premier destination for concern portion balancing nationalist information interests — ensuring that America's aboriginal remains firmly successful American hands."

"President Trump's upcoming gathering with President Xi volition beforehand these goals with a clear-eyed presumption of the economical and information realities of today," she added.

USDA has antecedently reported that the states with the largest Chinese holdings see Texas (123,708 acres), followed by North Carolina (44,263 acres); Missouri (42,905 acres); Florida (12,555 acres); and Virginia (4,654 acres).

The Virginia-based Smithfield Foods Inc., 1 of the largest pork producers successful the world, was bought by a Chinese nutrient institution successful 2013 for billions of dollars. Now, Smithfield Inc. is the 2nd largest Chinese holder of cultivation onshore successful U.S., with tens of thousands of acres, according to USDA.

Scott Lincicome, the vice president of wide economics astatine the Cato Institute, a libertarian deliberation tank, told CBS News helium believes the legislature concerns astir Chinese investments are overblown.

"If you look astatine the latest information from the USDA, Chinese ownership of farmland is simply a tiny, tiny sliver of each U.S. farmland," Lincicome said.

He acknowledged determination is simply a "justifiable information argument" erstwhile it comes to Chinese onshore ownership successful adjacent proximity to subject bases, but added determination needs to beryllium further grounds to warrant restricting spot rights.

"We always, ever person to retrieve that successful the immense bulk of these farmland transactions, the seller is an American," helium said. "So this is the national authorities restricting the spot rights of American citizens."

CBS News antecedently reported that China-linked acquisitions adjacent U.S. subject bases person sparked nationalist information concerns — prompting lawmakers successful North Dakota successful 2023 to artifact a Chinese institution from gathering a maize mill adjacent an Air Force basal successful Grand Forks.

Farmland adjacent Grand Forks, North Dakota

Moolenaar's bill, if passed, would necessitate the Treasury Department's Committee connected Foreign Investment successful the U.S. to reappraisal onshore purchases that impact China, Russia oregon different overseas adversaries. The bureau ruled successful 2022 that it had nary jurisdiction implicit a Chinese company's acquisition of farmland successful North Dakota adjacent Cavalier Space Force Station and Grand Forks Air Force Base.

"Huge information reporting gaps" person made getting a afloat representation of overseas concern successful the U.S. difficult, David Feith, a erstwhile nationalist information authoritative who worked successful the State Department connected U.S.-China argumentation during the archetypal Trump administration, told CBS News. He described the information arsenic "very incomplete."

The Government Accountability Office, an autarkic and nonpartisan agency, found successful January 2024 that the USDA "needs to collect, track, and stock the information better," citing its reliance connected insubstantial forms filed successful authorities counties. Without "improving its interior processes, USDA cannot study reliable accusation to Congress oregon the nationalist astir wherever and however overmuch U.S. cultivation onshore is held by overseas persons," the bureau said successful the report.

A USDA authoritative told CBS News that the bureau has taken steps to fortify mandatory disclosure of overseas transactions, citing an online portal for reports and an online form for the nationalist to taxable information.

Data for 2025 "should beryllium disposable successful precocious 2026," the authoritative said.

Dozens of states present person laws connected the books "that question to restrict to immoderate grade overseas ownership oregon investments successful backstage cultivation onshore wrong the boundaries of their state," according to the National Agricultural Law Center. Efforts person picked up successful caller years to bounds ownership, including successful Utah, wherever its Republican governor, Spencer Cox, signed a measure into instrumentality that expanded erstwhile overseas restrictions.

That effort disrupted a onshore sale successful Utah adjacent Provo Airport to Cirrus Aircraft, a institution that is majority-owned by the Chinese state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China. The Agriculture Department and American Farm Bureau antecedently said that astir 34,000 acres successful Utah has been owned by Chinese investors and companies.

"Total farmland owned by Chinese Communist Party entities whitethorn beryllium tiny successful aggregate — but that isn't what matters," Michael Sobolik, a elder chap astatine the right-leaning Hudson Institute who specializes successful U.S.–China relations, told CBS News, adding that lawmakers' concerns subordinate to the properties' "proximity to delicate locations."

"That's wherefore we request to instrumentality this contented seriously, and it's bully that Moolenaar is doing that," helium said.

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