The Federal Government has completely failed to track Chinese land buying in the United States. This has led to Chinese ownership of valuable American land, especially farming and natural resource rich.
The Department of Agriculture is required by law to inform the American people about foreign ownership of land in the US. It does not even have a plan to begin tracking the data. Fox News says:
The Biden administration is failing to properly track foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands and doesn’t appear to have a plan to begin tracking that data, according to an investigation by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
According to a GAO report detailing the findings of its investigation, the Department of Agriculture (USDA) has failed to consistently share timely data on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land as required under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA). Further, Pentagon officials told investigators, according to the report, that USDA needs to regularly provide more up-to-date and specific AFIDA data.
Foreign ownership has grown by over 40%, encompassing about 40 million acres. Farmland is key, but natural resources such as oil, gas, and timber are also preyed. Bloomberg continues:
Foreign ownership and investment in property such as farmland, pastures and forests jumped to about 40 million acres in 2021, up 40% from 2016, according to the US Department of Agriculture data. But an analysis conducted by the US Government Accountability Office — a non-partisan watchdog that reports to Congress — found mistakes in the data, including the largest land holding linked with China being counted twice. Other issues include the challenge of enforcing a US law that requires foreigners to self-report such purchases, the report said, citing USDA.
Outside ownership of American cropland is drawing attention from Washington as concern rises about possible threats to food supply chains and other national security risks. Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike have called for a crackdown on sales of farmland to China and other countries.
Many countries prevent foreigners from owning land. Owning land has been used to control subjugated populations, whether in Ireland or Africa. While an outright ban on all foreigners might not be possible, Americans should at least be aware if large companies own strategic resources on their land.
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