At the Wall Street Journal Patrick Thomas reports on the Trump Administration’s efforts to bar Chinese ownership of U. S. farmland:
The Trump administration has a message for China: Keep off the farm.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Tuesday the administration will work with state lawmakers to ban sales of U.S. farmland to buyers from China and other countries of concern, citing national-security interests.
Rollins, joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, said the government is ratcheting up scrutiny on existing land owned by Chinese buyers and is looking at ways to potentially claw back past purchases.
“We’ll never let foreign adversaries control our land,” said Rollins.
State and federal lawmakers for years have warned that China and other countries could use U.S. farmland to facilitate spying or wield influence over the U.S. food-supply chain. Chinese-owned entities hold nearly 300,000 acres—roughly 0.02%—of U.S. farmland, according to Agriculture Department data, an area about the size of Los Angeles.
Republicans and Democrats alike have sought to curb foreign ownership of American farmland, at times seeking to increase government scrutiny of purchases and investments. Critics have raised fears that foreign owners could drive up land prices or sidestep environmental rules.
In general “fee simple” is the private ownership of real property in which the owner has the right to control, use, and transfer the property at will. It is the form of real estate ownership that is the norm in the United States but not worldwide. I have long believed in reciprocity with respect to land ownership, that is, foreign individuals and entities should only be allowed to own U. S. land if American individuals and entities are allowed to own land in those countries in fee simple ownership. You might be surprised at how many countries in which that is not the case.
pfewww. So the fee simple note is interesting, but……..
Back in the real world, why does China need to own land near strategic locations? Fourth of July corn on the cob??
The land does not move to China. It stays here, and is subject to confiscation in time of war. Ask the Germans and Japanese how that works. Bayer never got its trademarks back.
Smithfield, the largest pork producer in the US, is a Chinese company, and it owns several other American brands.
The real foreign problem is Israel. More than two-thirds of Congress, both the House and Senate, have expressed their loyalty to Israel. The clown Bogino has said that every day he works to advance Israel’s causes. Alligator Alcatraz would be a suitable home for all of them.
Seriously? 0.02% of US farmland? That will control the US food supply??? Who would write such a thing and who would believe it? Just exactly how are they going to set those up as spy centers? You should be worried about cybersecurity. I also dont really get the fee simple thing. Why dont we want foreign investment?
Steve
I’m with Bob Sykes on this one. Let the Chinese own land in the US. If we go to war, we confiscate it to help pay for the war. The Chinese know this may be the case so war is less likely.