US tightens control over foreign ownership of agricultural land amid geopolitical tensions with China

The Trump administration has begun implementing new restrictive measures against foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States. Increased attention is paid to transactions involving countries classified as adversaries of the United States. The focus of concern is China and its potential impact on food security.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Interagency Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) and state governments, intends to strengthen oversight of purchases of agricultural land and infrastructure. The goal is to prevent strategic acquisitions that could jeopardize critical supply chains and research infrastructure in the agricultural sector.

Министр сельского хозяйства Брук Роллинз заявила, что речь идёт не о дискриминации, а о защите интересов фермеров и национальной безопасности. В своём выступлении она подчеркнула необходимость противодействия попыткам “враждебных режимов” получить доступ к аграрным ресурсам и технологиям США.

As part of the new policy, the National Farm Safety Plan has been launched, including the following measures::

• Fines of up to 25% for false or incomplete information when applying for ownership of agricultural land;
• Create a national complaints portal where you can report suspicious transactions and cases of concealment of end owners;
• A ban on the participation of countries that oppose the United States in scientific programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and related projects.

Earlier this year, the Chinese company Syngenta, owned by ChemChina Corporation, was forced to sell farmland in Arkansas. And in North Dakota, under pressure from the authorities, a project to build a corn mill with the participation of Chinese investors was canceled.

According to official statistics, by the end of 2023, foreign individuals and organizations owned about 45 million acres of agricultural land in the United States, which is approximately 3.5% of all private agricultural land. At the same time, China accounted for less than 1% of the total number, but in political and expert circles, the question is increasingly raised not about the current volume, but about the strategic nature of investments and potential threats.

The new measures may affect both future transactions and the structure of international participation in the US agro-industrial complex, especially in areas related to plant genetics, data processing, biotechnology and agricultural machinery.