(The Epoch Times)—Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced on July 8 that the United States will be moving to ban Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland over national security concerns.
During a press conference with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and other top officials, Rollins said the Trump administration will work with states and use executive actions to ban ownership of U.S. agriculture by Chinese and nationals of other adversaries.
During a call with reporters on July 7, Rollins said there was no way for her agency to take back farmland owned by the Chinese and other foreign buyers.
“USDA is not in the role to be able to do that,” she said.
The national security action plan released by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and obtained by The Epoch Times states: “Land owned by foreign nationals—particularly those from countries of concern … or other foreign adversaries—is a potential threat to national security and future economic prosperity. USDA will ensure transparency of foreign U.S. agricultural land ownership and pursue robust and overdue updates to data collection, reporting, and analysis.”
The USDA, according to the plan, will implement reforms such as creating an online filing system to require foreign entities to report their holdings and transactions in the U.S. agricultural marketplace.
It will also work alongside Congress and states to pass and implement laws to take “action to end the direct or indirect purchase or control of American farmland by nationals from countries of concern or other foreign adversaries.”
Additionally, the USDA will sign a memorandum of understanding with the Treasury Department to “ensure regular coordination” with the agriculture secretary related to reviews by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) when it comes to foreign transactions involving the agriculture sector, according to the plan.
Rollins announced that she will sit on CFIUS, a panel that reviews foreign purchases for national security risks, beginning July 8.
Later, at a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Rollins said that there is a bigger picture when it comes to protecting American agriculture.
“Protecting America’s farms isn’t just about protecting our farmers. It’s also about national security,” she said.
Rollins acknowledged that “the states have begun taking a leadership role to ban the purchasing of farmland by China” and that “Congress needs to step up and catch up.”
Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland has been a concern in both the agricultural and national security sectors.
A U.S. Government Accountability Office report in 2024 said that U.S. agencies were in the dark about Chinese ownership of American farmland.
“This report confirms one of our worst fears: that not only is the USDA unable to answer the question of who owns what land and where, but that there is no plan by the department to internally reverse this dangerous flaw that affects our supply chain and economy,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) at the time.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) said in a joint statement: “Growing foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China, poses a direct threat to our food security and national security.
“Safeguarding our farmland and food supply requires a whole of government approach and we will continue to work with the impacted agencies, related committees, and leadership to continue our robust oversight and to identify legislative vehicles to address the findings of the GAO report.”
In July 2024, the Biden administration took executive action to shutter Chinese majority-owned MineOne Partners Ltd. and its affiliates.
As of 2023, China owns 384,000 acres of American farmland.
The national security plan consists of other aspects, such as enhancing agricultural supply chain resilience, protecting food stamp programs from fraud and abuse, enhancing agricultural research security, safeguarding plant and animal health, and protecting critical infrastructure.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
