Sponsors (2)
The bill prioritizes preventing foreign-adversary influence over U.S. agricultural land by expanding reporting, enforcement, and definitions—trading off increased transparency and national-security protections for higher compliance costs, privacy risks, potential chilling of foreign investment, and added regulatory uncertainty.
Rural communities and U.S. farmers face reduced risk of foreign-government influence or control over U.S. agricultural land, protecting local food production and national-security-sensitive assets.
The bill strengthens detection and enforcement of foreign-interest holdings by making leases and security interests reportable, raising civil penalties and allowing liens, which should deter noncompliance and close reporting loopholes.
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents are excluded from the definition of 'covered person,' reducing the risk that ordinary domestic owners will be swept into foreign-adversary restrictions.
Owners, lessees, and rural communities could see reduced foreign investment and financing options—potentially limiting capital for agricultural development and land sales in some areas.
The bill increases compliance, reporting, and administrative burdens for landowners and USDA (including near-real-time publication and expanded reporting), raising costs for farmers and taxpayers and potentially delaying program payments.
Publishing detailed ownership, purchase price, valuations, and DNI reports risks exposing private financial and transaction data, raising privacy concerns and potential commercial harms to owners and lenders if protections fail.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Bans persons tied to specified foreign adversaries from buying or leasing U.S. agricultural land, restricts their USDA program participation, expands AFIDA reporting and penalties, and requires federal reports.
Introduced February 18, 2025 by Thomas Hawley Tuberville · Last progress February 18, 2025
Prohibits persons tied to certain foreign adversary governments (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) from buying or leasing U.S. agricultural land and bars those covered persons who own or lease such land from participating in most USDA programs. Expands reporting and public disclosure requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, increases civil penalties and creates liens for violations, requires new federal reports on foreign ownership risks and malign influence, and authorizes use of IEEPA enforcement tools and penalties for willful violations.