Ricketts and Fetterman Join Forces to Combat China's Efforts to Buy U.S. Farmland
Senators push bipartisan bill to tighten foreign farmland oversight, citing food security as key to national security amid rising Chinese investments.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced new legislation aimed at strengthening oversight of foreign investment in American farmland. Spearheaded by Republican Senator Pete Ricketts and Democratic Senator John Fetterman, the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act seeks to address growing concerns over foreign entities, particularly those linked to China, acquiring agricultural land across the United States.
The new act is designed to implement recommendations made by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) earlier this year, which concluded that existing laws are insufficient to counter the rising trend of overseas ownership. “American farmland should remain in the hands of American farmers and ranchers, not foreign adversaries,” emphasized Senator Ricketts. “The neighbors who feed us should benefit from land ownership, not Communist China. Food security is national security.”
Under current law, the AFIDA requires foreign investors to report acquisitions of U.S. agricultural land to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). However, gaps in the process and outdated reporting mechanisms have limited the government’s ability to monitor and respond to potential threats. The proposed bill would require mandatory reporting for any foreign person or entity with more than a one percent interest in American farmland, and it mandates updates to the AFIDA handbook. It also establishes a deadline for the USDA to create an online reporting system, enabling greater transparency and efficiency.
Senator Tommy Tuberville, another supporter of the bill, highlighted mounting concerns over China’s aggressive acquisition of agricultural resources. “Over the past several decades, China has been buying up American farmland in an attempt to infiltrate our agriculture supply chains. Food security is national security, and we cannot give the CCP a foothold,” he stated, referencing the Chinese Communist Party.
Recent USDA data reveals that foreign investors now own more than 40 million acres of U.S. farmland. Between 2010 and 2021 alone, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land surged from approximately 13,700 acres to nearly 384,000 acres. This rapid increase has fueled bipartisan calls in Congress for stricter laws and improved monitoring to ensure critical agricultural assets do not fall under the control of foreign governments or entities with strategic interests opposed to the United States.
The AFIDA Improvements Act also aims to boost information-sharing between the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and the USDA, ensuring that all relevant government agencies are better equipped to detect and evaluate potentially risky investments. Representative Don Bacon, who introduced the House version of the bill, argued, “Having actual processes in place will strengthen the security of our nation in the event nefarious foreign agents, such as the CCP, try to purchase agricultural lands within our nation.”
Other recent legislative efforts have similarly focused on curbing foreign land ownership near strategic sites. The Protecting America’s Strategic Sites (PASS) Act, led by Senator Mike Rounds, has gained traction in the Senate; it would ban entities from China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran from purchasing agricultural land near military bases or sensitive facilities. Meanwhile, measures such as the Not One More Inch or Acre Act, proposed by a separate group of senators, seek to block China from buying U.S. land entirely.
The issue has also emerged as a flashpoint in the 2024 presidential campaign. Former President Donald Trump has vowed to prohibit Chinese entities from acquiring American farmland should he return to office. Last year, the Senate approved an amendment with broad bipartisan support to bar China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing American agricultural assets, but the measure has not yet become law.
With lawmakers from both parties joining forces on the AFIDA Improvements Act, there is renewed momentum in Congress to bolster scrutiny of foreign investment in the country’s agricultural sector. Supporters argue that the latest reforms are a necessary step to safeguard food production, rural communities, and national security against the backdrop of intensifying global competition over vital resources.
