New PASS Act Mandates Blocking of Foreign Ag Land Purchases from China, Russia, and Others

The Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act of 2025 (PASS Act) is essentially a major security upgrade for the U.S. food supply chain, specifically targeting foreign investment. This bill expands the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to scrutinize foreign deals in agriculture and agricultural biotechnology. The core requirement is clear: if a transaction involves an entity connected to one of the four "prohibited countries"—China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea—and it involves U.S. agricultural land or a related business, the President must block it, unless they issue a national security waiver.

Who’s Checking the Grocery List?

Currently, CFIUS reviews deals that could pose a national security risk, but this bill makes the process much more focused on the farm. The PASS Act broadens the definition of transactions CFIUS must look at to include any investment by a "covered foreign person" in an unaffiliated U.S. business involved in agriculture or agricultural biotech. Even more directly, it adds the purchase or lease of private U.S. real estate used for agriculture by a covered foreign person to the list of scrutinized transactions (SEC. 2). For the first time, the Secretary of Agriculture is formally added to the list of officials involved in the CFIUS review process, ensuring that agricultural expertise is part of the security analysis.

The Mandatory Block Button

This is where the bill gets tough. If a transaction involves a "covered foreign person"—meaning someone acting for, or directed by, the governments or entities of the prohibited countries—and they are trying to buy agricultural land or a related U.S. business, the President is mandated to prohibit the deal (SEC. 2). This is a big deal because it shifts the power from an optional review to a mandatory block. However, there’s a safety valve: the President can waive this prohibition if they determine it is vital to U.S. national security interests, provided they give Congress 30 days’ notice. This waiver authority is a critical detail, as it means the final decision still rests with the executive branch.

What This Means for the Farm and the Investor

For U.S. agricultural businesses looking for capital, this bill creates a hard stop for potential funding from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. If you run a biotech startup focused on crop resilience or a large farm looking to sell land, your pool of potential buyers just got smaller. The intent is national security—to prevent adversarial governments from gaining control over critical food production assets. But the practical effect is that U.S. businesses lose access to certain foreign investment dollars, which could impact valuations or expansion plans. Furthermore, the Secretary of Agriculture will now be required to report every 180 days to Congress detailing the risks foreign purchases pose to the U.S. agricultural sector, keeping the pressure on this issue (SEC. 2).

The Fine Print and Future Uncertainty

While the bill is clear on the mandatory block, the expansion of CFIUS review also includes new types of agricultural investments that are "subject to future regulations" (SEC. 2). This means that the full scope of what CFIUS will review is still undefined and will be determined later by regulators. For busy professionals and farmers, this creates a period of uncertainty; the rules of the road for foreign investment in ag are changing, but we don't know exactly how wide the net will be cast until those regulations are written. The PASS Act is a significant move to secure the food supply, but it also signals a tightening of the regulatory environment for anyone dealing in agricultural land or technology that seeks capital from certain parts of the globe.