Today, U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) reintroduced legislation to ban Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from owning American agricultural land and homes. The Senator’s introduction of the Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act comes after the Trump Administration recently unveiled its National Farm Security Action Plan, a comprehensive strategy to respond to this challenge and protect our farmland and food supply chains.
“China’s ownership of U.S. farmland poses a direct threat to American interests,”said Senator Hawley. “We should never let our nation’s greatest adversary have access to our vital resources, including our housing supply. That’s why I’m reintroducing legislation to protect American assets from the CCP once and for all.”
According to the USDA, Chinese entities own around 278,000 acres of agricultural land across the country, a total that has spiked 350 percent since 2010. The ownership of so much acreage by our nation’s greatest geopolitical adversary undermines the integrity of our food supply and creates unacceptable national security risks, particularly given the proximity of much of this land to sensitive military installations.
The Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act would:
- Prohibit Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the CCP from acquiring or leasing United States’ agricultural land;
- Prohibit Chinese corporations and individuals associated with the CCP from purchasing residential real estate in the United States for a period of at least two years, with an option for the President to renew the prohibition biennially;
- Require Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the CCP to divest ownership of United States’ agricultural land and residential real estate within one year;
- Establish civil fines and criminal penalties for noncompliance, including forfeiture.
Read the full bill here.