Washington, DC — Republican Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa says she and Senator Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat who’s chairwoman of the Senate Ag Committee, are calling for creation of a public database of US ag land owned by foreigners and it would set the stage for forced divestment of real estate owned by foreign entities.
Ernst says the proposal also would strengthen federal oversight and rejection of foreign investment in the ag sector of the US economy.
According to the USDA, 37 million acres of US farmland is under foreign ownership, 384,000 of those acres are owned by China. Iowa law forbids any foreign entity from owning more than 320 acres.
Other members of the House and Senate called for an outright ban on foreign ownership of US farmland. Ernst says the bipartisan proposal she’s working on would give the USDA authority to review the national security implications of Chinese companies doing business on American soil and block suspect deals.
China forbids foreigners from purchasing real estate in China.
