Last week, the United States Senate passed an amendment offered by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) that bans foreign adversaries from purchasing American farmland and agricultural businesses. The amendment, Rounds 813, will be included in the Senate version of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and passed with an overwhelming vote of 91-7.
Rounds 813 would ban investors from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from buying U.S. farmland and require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to review land purchases by investors from any other foreign country totaling more than $5 million or 320 acres.
“China and Russia are our near-peer adversaries and North Korea and Iran are no friends of the United States,” said Rounds. “These four adversaries view America as their top competitor and only wish to gain advantage and opportunities to surveil our nation’s capabilities and resources. This commonsense provision will make our homeland more secure. I am pleased this amendment was included in this year’s NDAA, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to move this legislation across the finish line.”
Rounds’ amendment would:
Prohibit China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing U.S. farmland and agricultural companies.
Add the Secretary of Agriculture as an ex officio member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to consider agriculture needs when making determinations affecting our national security.
Require the president to submit a report to Congress on any waiver granted to a prohibited country.
