New USDA plan seeks to crack down on Chinese ownership of U.S. farmland, advancing Trump’s promise

Citing national security concerns, the Trump administration announced plans to crack down on Chinese ownership of U.S. agricultural land.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, alongside Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem unveiled a seven-point national security plan July 8 to block investment by foreign adversaries and to enhance public disclosures of foreign ownership.  

The plan comes amid concern in recent years over foreign ownership of U.S. farmland, particularly by China-affiliated investors. Rollins cited concerns relating to theft and food security.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy research organization, says that foreign investors' large land purchases can harm communities by taking resources, such as water, away from local residents.

In 2024, the Biden administration proposed a rule to make it more challenging for foreign investors to purchase land near sites deemed important for national security, such as military bases. In March, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, introduced the bipartisan Farmland Act that would call on federal authorities to review large land purchases from foreign investors. The bill is awaiting Senate review.

Rollins said July 8 the USDA would collaborate with state and federal authorities to "claw back what has already been purchased by China and other foreign adversaries."

The USDA plan included a U.S. map showing the proximity between counties with Chinese-owned farm land and U.S. military bases.

The USDA's most recent foreign holdings report in 2023 said Chinese, Iranian, North Korean and Russian investors hold less than 1% of foreign-held U.S. farmland. Canadian investors owned the largest portion of foreign-held U.S. agricultural land, approximately a third, with more than 15 million acres. China-linked investors reported owning more than 277,000 acres.

The American Farm Bureau, an advocacy group, estimated Chinese investors held approximately .02% of all foreign-owned U.S. agricultural land.

The action plan's first point entails harsher penalties for false land ownership filings and the launch of an online portal for reporting unlawful filings and adversarial influence on American farmland. 

There is no federal law prohibiting foreign entities from purchasing or investing in American agricultural land. They are required to report purchases, sales and interests to the USDA under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act. 

Currently, 26 states have laws aimed at restricting foreign ownership or investments in U.S. farmland. However, rules limiting foreign ownership have sparked legal battles in some states. A group of Chinese citizens living in Florida filed a lawsuit against the state in 2023, claiming a law relating to foreign ownership was discriminatory and violated the U.S. Constitution. The case is now before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; while the case proceeds, the plaintiffs are exempt from the law. 

A coalition of Republican governors pledged their support of the National Farm Security Action Plan in a letter to Rollins.

The USDA plan advances Trump's promise to stop China from buying land in the U.S., but an outright ban requires congressional approval. For now, we rate this promise In the Works.