Ernst Fights to Protect American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is working to create another layer of scrutiny on foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland and agricultural industries by adding the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In this role, the Secretary of Agriculture would flag farmland purchases by foreign adversaries like China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran for CFIUS, adding much-needed oversight to the process.
“Foreign acquisition of our precious agricultural land, especially by our adversaries, threatens the integrity of our food supply and the security of our nation,” said Senator Ernst. “Giving the agriculture community oversight in land ownership is a commonsense measure that sends a strong message to malign actors. There is nothing more foundational to our nation’s independence, safety, and security than protecting our food supply from foreign influence.”
The Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 would:
- Permanently include the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of CFIUS with respect to covered transactions involving agricultural land, agricultural biotech, or the transportation, storage, and processing of agricultural products.
- Authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to report both agricultural land transactions that involve foreign persons of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, and transactions that require Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reporting to CFIUS.
Background:
Ernst understands that food security is national security. Her bipartisan FARMLAND Act will overhaul the current outdated system that has allowed China’s malign influence to threaten American security.
She supported the AFIDA Improvements Act to implement recommendations from a recent Government Accountability Office report that detailed alarming gaps in how the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently tracks foreign investments. Ernst has confronted the USDA about its lack of oversight of foreign involvement in American agricultural land and questioned officials to ensure they make updates to the AFIDA reporting process a priority.
Ernst also led a bipartisan letter urging the USDA to comply with the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations bill, which mandated the establishment of a streamlined process for electronic submission and retention of AFIDA disclosures. Additionally, Ernst pointed out the alleged errors occurring within the reporting process and demanded the Secretary of Agriculture address these inaccuracies rather than simply add a disclaimer to the USDA’s website.
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