U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) warned about the danger of China ownership of farmland in the U.S.
Appearing on the Tucker Carlson show April 5, Newhouse discussed the Chinese buying of U.S. farmland as a national security issue and discussed the need to prevent the country from controlling the U.S. domestic food supply. This comes as the Biden administration noted there may be food shortages in the near future. Carlson started the segment noting the Chinese are making a concerted effort to buy American farmland.
"The three things that matter to any country long term are food, water and energy, and if you have a problem with those you have a real problem," Carlson said.
Carlson pointed out that while President Joe Biden has been talking of food shortages in relation to Ukraine and Russia and the prices of wheat that have recently skyrocketed, the Chinese have been buying up farmland, now owning "more than $2 billion worth of farmland in the U.S."
Newhouse noted the latest appropriations bill tells the U.S. Department of Agriculture to "come back to us with a report telling us about foreign ownership of agricultural lands in this country by adversaries." He went on to note China would fall under the definition of adversary. Newhouse stated the policies of the Biden administration in this regard are actually hurting the U.S. and helping China.
Newhouse added he has legislation that would work to stop China from starting an agricultural monopoly in the U.S.
"I want to preclude the Communist Chinese government from purchasing agricultural assets in the United States," he said.
Newhouse talked of international travels where he has witnessed how a Chinese "foothold" has manifested, and notes the U.S. should be pre-emptive to avoid China gaining solid footing in the domestic agricultural production in the U.S.
Newhouse closed out by noting there is bipartisan support behind the issue.
The U.S. Senate passed the United States Innovation and Competition Act March 28, amending some of the portions of the bill first passed by the House and then sent to the Senate for approval. There is expected to be a conference to reconcile differences, but regardless the bill takes an aggressive stance against China and could make the U.S. more competitive against the Asian country while bolstering US-Taiwan relations.
The bill's focus on China would reportedly boost the domestic production of semiconductors, increase the frequency of foreign disclosures of U.S. land ownership and screen overseas investment in China.
According to a December 2021 Agri Pulse article, which cites U.S. Department of Agriculture data, Chinese investors own a little more than half of 1 percent of foreign-owned land in the U.S. Land owned by Chinese interests reportedly total 190,000 acres and has been unchanged since 2013. Agri Pulse also notes that due to the age of the data and other factors, the numbers may be out of date or no longer accurate.
