Chinese Communist Party Ownership of Agricultural Land is a Threat to America

TOPLINE POINTS

• China is an adversarial nation with the stated goal of overtaking the United States.
• According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports, Chinese investors’ holdings of U.S. agricultural land surged from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020, valued at $1.9 billion.[1] The average U.S. farm is 445 acres, so nearly 800 American families could potentially farm this acreage.
• 14 states (Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) have already enacted laws effectively banning the CCP from owning agricultural land, and another 3 have introduced legislation. This is also not a partisan issue.[2]

ADVERSARial NATIONS DO NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO U.S. Agricultural land

Why does my state need a law banning the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from owning farmland?

• China is an adversarial nation with the stated goal of overtaking the United States.
• Our agricultural land is a strategic asset allowing us food security and independence, and farmers are an essential part of the fabric of our Nation.
• Securing and dominating world food supply chains is an integral part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which also sees them hoarding computer chips, minerals, and other sensitive commodities.
• Americans have a right to determine which foreign countries may purchase U.S. farmland, and countries spreading malign influence at all levels of our society to undermine us should not be allowed to acquire it.

The CCP owns a significant amount of U.S. Farmland.

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports, Chinese investors’ holdings of U.S. agricultural land surged from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020, valued at $1.9 billion.[1] The average U.S. farm is 445 acres, so nearly 800 American families could potentially farm this acreage.

It is constitutional to prevent the CCP from acquiring U.S. farmland under current law.

14 states (Arizona, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) have already enacted laws effectively banning the CCP from owning agricultural land, and another 3 have introduced legislation. This is also not a partisan issue.[2]

• Our largest states, blue and red, are moving on this problem.
  • In August 2022, the California legislature passed the Food and Farm Security Act, which would prohibit any foreign government from purchasing, acquiring, leasing, or holding agricultural land.[3]
  • In September 2022, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis proposed legislation for the 2023 session prohibiting China and other “foreign countries of concern” from purchasing agricultural land.[4]

The CCP poses a unique threat to our civil society, including our precious land resources and food supply. The flagrant human rights abuses of the Chinese government further disqualify it from owning a stake in the future health and security of our Nation.