Bipartisan Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Ban China from Buying US Farmland

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) questions Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing titled The Financial Stability Oversight Council Annual Report to Congress, in Dirksen Senate Office Building on May 10, 2022 in Washington. Tom Williams-Pool/Getty Images

Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Tester (D-Mont.) on Feb. 1 introduced a bill to ban China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from buying or leasing U.S. farmland and agricultural businesses.

The proposed legislation, named the PASS (Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security) Act of 2023, would require the president to report to Congress on any waiver granted to the prohibited countries. It would also make the secretary of agriculture a standing member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal panel that reviews foreign acquisitions for national security risks, and specify agricultural investments as falling under CFIUS’ jurisdiction.

While the legislation is the same as a version introduced last year, Rounds said that this year’s bill has more bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress and support from stakeholders.

“The intent behind this particular legislation was to prohibit China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from establishing locations in the United States where they could monitor activity, specifically potential military activity,” said Rounds in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

Rounds highlighted the value of farming and seed technology developed in the United States.

“China has an interest in taking some of our advancements and using them in their country without acknowledging the patents that may accompany that material, which is made easier if they have a base of operation in the United States in which to obtain the material in the first place,” he added.

A third-generation Montana farmer, Tester said in a statement that he was proud to sponsor the bill to “ensure our farmers have a seat at the table when the government makes decisions impacting our national security.” Tester added that he was not going to “sit back” and “let our foreign adversaries weaken our national security by buying up American farmland.”

Farmers harvest a field of corn on October 2, 2013, in South Dakota. China has interest in U.S. corn seed technology. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Agriculture is the lifeblood of South Dakota’s economy, worth nearly $12 billion in 2021, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture & Natural Resources (pdf). As the state’s largest industry, agriculture leads tourism—the second-largest industry, estimated at over $4 billion in 2021—by three times.

The South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) and South Dakota Sheep Growers Association (SDSGA) have endorsed the bill. Doug Sombke, president of SDFU, in a statement also encouraged other state farmers’ unions to support the bill.

The legislation is cosponsored by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). The House version, also introduced on Wednesday, is sponsored by Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Jim Costa (D-Calif.), and Rick Crawford (R-Ark.).

Last month, CFIUS decided that it didn’t have jurisdiction to review a land purchase related to a controversial Chinese corn mill project in Grand Forks, North Dakota. That project is located within 15 miles of the Grand Forks Air Force base, which houses sensitive drone, satellite, and surveillance technology, and has prompted significant pushback from Republican lawmakers and locals who say it threatens both national and economic security.

Both Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) raised national security concerns before and after the CFIUS review.

On Tuesday, Grand Forks city mayor Brandon Bochenski announced that he plans to stop the project after the U.S. Department of the Air Force sent a letter to Hoeven and Cramer, saying, “While CFIUS concluded that it did not have jurisdiction, the Department’s view is unambiguous: the proposed project presents a significant threat to national security with both near- and long-term risks of significant impacts to our operations in the area.”

That brought the controversial project to an end after a bumpy journey. The city announced the project in November 2021, approved the development agreement in July 2022, then paused construction in September 2022 in anticipation of the CFIUS review. After CFIUS’ decision in December, the project proceeded, only for the mayor to pull the plug this week.

As of Dec. 31, 2020, China owned 325,686 acres of U.S. agricultural land, according to the Department of Agriculture. While the acreage under Chinese ownership is slightly less than 1 percent of all foreign-held agricultural land, it represents a 20-fold leap from 13,720 acres in 2010.

But the relatively low percentage of Chinese ownership does not diminish the severity of the threat, according to Rounds, who said that thwarting the trend is important.

“China is strategic in where they purchase farmland, sometimes near military bases,” the senator said.

“It is easier to address this situation now than after they have established a strong foothold in agricultural production areas.”