Newhouse pens bill to keep China from buying US farmland

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Rep. Dan Newhouse announced Thursday that he is introducing a bill that would prevent individuals or organizations associated with the government of the People’s Republic of China from buying any public or private agricultural land in the United States, as well as from participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture programs with the exception of food safety inspections.

In a press release, Newhouse said the federal legislation would augment laws in six states — Hawaii, Iowa, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Dakota and Oklahoma — that ban foreign ownership of farmland. However, nothing prevents foreign entities from buying shares in U.S. companies that own farmland.

“We hail from the greatest country in the world, and there is simply no reason we should be reliant on a communist country like China for our food supply,” Newhouse said in the press release. “If we cede responsibility over our food supply chain to an adversarial foreign nation, we could be forced into exporting food that is grown within our own borders and meant for our own use.”

According to a report from the USDA’s Economic Research Service, Chinese investment in agriculture outside of China increased to $3.3 billion in 2016 from $300 million in 2009, though the report also cited figures from China’s Ministry of Agriculture saying the country held stakes in over 1,300 “overseas investments” worth in excess of $26 billion.

The ERS report said most of China’s overseas agricultural investment has focused on Russia and nearby Asian countries. However, the report also noted that China has shifted its investment strategy from farming overseas to acquiring established agricultural businesses and operations in the last few years.