from WND:
‘Undermines integrity of our nation’s food supply chain’
A new bill offered by Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., would ban corporations and individuals affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party from buying or leasing U.S. farmland.
The bill, called the “This Land is Our Land Act,” would force connected entities to divest ownership of American farmland within two years or face fines and penalties.
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“No Chinese corporation or individual associated with the CCP should be permitted to own American farmland. It undermines the integrity of our nation’s food supply chain, it presents national security threats when the land is in close proximity to military installations, and it hurts American farmers,” Hawley said.
His bill comes after a Chinese spy balloon was allowed to float across America before being shot down, and amidst Americans’ growing fears of Communist China as the United States’ most powerful enemy worldwide. Beijing’s aggressiveness has only grown under Biden’s feckless foreign policy.
The Epoch Times reports with tensions with China and the CCP escalating, “A growing number of lawmakers and state officials have moved to restrict land ownership from Chinese entities.”
A Hawley news release states the bill, a draft of which was published by Hawley’s office, would:
- Prohibit Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party from acquiring or leasing United States agricultural land.
- Require Chinese corporations and individuals affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party to divest ownership of United States agricultural land within two years.
- Establish civil fines and criminal penalties for noncompliance, including forfeiture.
The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 6: “Chinese holdings of U.S. agricultural land have increased significantly in recent years, and nearly half of the Chinese-held acres of agricultural land at the end of 2020 were in Texas,” according to a U.S. Agriculture Department database obtained by the Journal under a FOIA request.
By the end of 2020, Chinese investors owned more than 338,000 acres of U.S, farmland, up from 75,000 acres at the end of 2010. The Journal reported: “About 80 percent of Chinese-owned U.S. agricultural acreage has been acquired since 2010.”
Nevertheless, according to the Journal, “China owns slightly less than 1% of all U.S. farmland held by foreigners, who in total owned around 3% of all privately held agricultural land at the end of 2021, according to the USDA.”
