U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) on Tuesday led a group of colleagues in introducing the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, which would add the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
The Ag secretary's inclusion to the Committee adds another layer of scrutiny on foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland and agricultural industries. The bipartisan legislation would also specifically flag farmland purchases by foreign adversaries like China, North Korea, Russia and Iran for CFIUS. According to the USDA, over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land is foreign-owned.
"Food security is national security and that requires America's farmland be protected from foreign adversaries, like China. I believe one acre of American farmland owned by the Chinese Communist Party is one acre too many," Britt said. "To protect Alabama and America's farmland from being purchased by malign actors, the Secretary of Agriculture must have a seat at the table. This commonsense legislation ensures the Secretary of Agriculture is made a permanent member of CFIUS in order to weigh in on the needs of America's agriculture industry when reviewing foreign investment and ownership."
Tuberville said on Tuesday, "Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have bowed to China every chance that they get—even when it comes to our agriculture industry."
"In the last decade alone, we have seen a surge of over 35% in foreign land purchases—including in my home state of Alabama," he added. "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."
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