The "Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025" ensures the Secretary of Agriculture is a member of CFIUS for transactions involving agricultural land, biotechnology, or industry, and requires CFIUS to review agricultural land transactions involving China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran.
Frank Lucas
Representative
OK-3
The Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025 amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for transactions involving agricultural land, biotechnology, or the agriculture industry. It also requires CFIUS to consider certain agricultural land transactions, particularly those involving foreign entities from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, based on notifications from the Secretary of Agriculture. This consideration is triggered when the Secretary of Agriculture believes a transaction involving these countries is a covered transaction based on intelligence information, involves agricultural land, and requires reporting under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. These requirements will end for a specific country once that country is removed from the list of foreign adversaries.
Foreign Adversary Farmland Review Mandate: New Bill Adds USDA to National Security Screen for Ag Deals
The Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025 aims to beef up national security by bringing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) into the foreign investment review process for anything related to agriculture. Specifically, the bill adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) when deals involve agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, or the broader agriculture industry (including things like transportation, storage, and processing). This means that any foreign investment in these areas will now get an extra layer of scrutiny from an agricultural perspective.
Planting the Seeds of Scrutiny
The core change here is that CFIUS must consider whether to review a transaction if the Secretary of Agriculture flags it as a potential issue, and that transaction involves buying agricultural land by a foreign entity from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, and also needs to be reported under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. The Secretary's decision to flag is to be based on "intelligence information." Imagine a Chinese company trying to buy a large tract of farmland near a key agricultural research facility. Under this bill, if the Secretary of Agriculture, based on intelligence reports, believes it's a "covered transaction" (meaning it falls under CFIUS's jurisdiction), CFIUS has to take a look.
Real-World Rows: Who Feels the Impact?
This bill could have a direct impact on farmers, agricultural businesses, and foreign investors. For example, a U.S. farmer looking to sell their land might find fewer potential buyers if investors from those four countries are deterred by the increased scrutiny. The stated goal is to protect U.S. agricultural assets and ensure that foreign adversaries don't gain control of critical parts of our food supply chain. A company that develops advanced agricultural technology might also face more hurdles in attracting foreign investment, potentially slowing down innovation or expansion.
Weeding Out Potential Problems
While the bill's intent is to protect national security, there are a few potential hitches. The reliance on the Secretary of Agriculture's "belief" based on "intelligence information" leaves room for interpretation, and that could lead to inconsistencies in how transactions are reviewed. Also, singling out specific countries could create tension with those nations. There's a 'sunset clause' - if a country is removed from the official list of 'foreign adversaries,' the restrictions no longer apply. However, the bill doesn't detail any specific criteria for how the Secretary of Agriculture should be making these decisions, beyond referencing 'intelligence information'. (SEC. 3)