Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and John Fetterman (D-PA) have united to address growing concerns about the national security implications of foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land, particularly by Chinese entities. The bipartisan push for the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act aims to modernize and strengthen the existing disclosure framework, as highlighted by recent incidents involving Chinese nationals accused of smuggling biological agents into the United States. These events have sparked significant debate about the role of foreign investment in American agriculture and the potential threats posed by adversaries like Communist China.
The AFIDA Improvements Act is a direct response to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in January 2024, which criticized the current AFIDA system for being inadequately equipped to address the increasing foreign ownership of American farmland. The bill seeks to enhance transparency by requiring foreign investors to report their agricultural land holdings above a certain threshold and improving information-sharing mechanisms between the USDA and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). This enhanced oversight is intended to enable the U.S. government to take proactive measures if threats to national security from foreign ownership emerge.
Ricketts, a vocal critic of Chinese influence, has framed the issue as a matter of national security and geopolitical competition. He pointed to recent cases involving Chinese nationals, including a University of Michigan post-doctoral researcher and a student from Huazhong University of Science and Technology, who were charged with smuggling a fungal pathogen described as a potential agroterrorism weapon into the United States. These individuals were allegedly planning to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme, which could pose a significant threat to agricultural supply chains and food security.
The bill’s sponsors are also concerned about the proximity of foreign-owned farmland to U.S. military installations, including Grand Forks Air Force Base and Fort Liberty. Ricketts warned that Chinese entities have been acquiring land near these sites, potentially enabling them to exploit American infrastructure for cyber or physical attacks. He cited recent examples like Ukraine’s successful drone strikes on Russian air bases as evidence of how adversaries could leverage agricultural assets to target U.S. military operations.
Despite the bipartisan support for the AFIDA Improvements Act, its progress has been slowed by Senate Republicans’ focus on advancing Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ before a self-imposed July 4 deadline. This political dynamic has raised questions about the legislative timeline and the urgency with which national security threats related to foreign agricultural investments are being addressed. Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies continue to emphasize the importance of securing the U.S. food supply and borders from potential biological and cybersecurity threats posed by foreign actors.