Lawmakers Launch Another Effort to Add USDA to CFIUS Reviews
A bipartisan bill could add the USDA secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. and block China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from investing in American agricultural companies. The bill is aimed at “preventing foreign adversaries from taking any ownership or control of the United States’ agricultural land and agricultural businesses,” lawmakers said.
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They said USDA should be “fully involved in reviewing our foreign adversaries’ acquisition of American companies that may affect our agriculture sector,” adding that China’s attempts to acquire U.S. farmland threatens American food supplies. “Especially as we witness the devastating impact of a supply chain crisis,” Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said, “the United States cannot cede any ownership of our food supply to those who are actively working against our security interests.”
The bill, called the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act (PASS), also would require the president to submit a report to Congress on any foreign investment “waiver” granted to a prohibited country, and would require the USDA secretary to report “on the risk of foreign purchases of agriculture companies to the American agriculture sector.”
The bill was introduced in the House this month by Stefanik and Reps. Jim Costa, D-Calif., and Rick Crawford, R-Ark., and in the Senate by Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Mike Rounds, R-S.D. Lawmakers have previously tried to add the USDA secretary to CFIUS reviews, including with the Security and Oversight of International Landholdings Act last year (see 2208160022) and the Agricultural Security Risk Review Act in 2021 (see 2106010003). Stefanik and others also introduced the PASS Act last year.