Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Representative Jason Smith (Mo.) announced that he has coauthored the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act. The legislation would prohibit the purchase of public or private agricultural land in the U.S. by foreign nationals associated with the People’s Republic of China. Additionally, the legislation would prohibit the same associations from participating in any U.S. Department of Agriculture programs except food safety inspections.

“The Chinese Communist Party isn’t an ally, it’s our top adversary and has no business buying up Missouri’s farmland,” said Smith. “This bill will prevent the CCP from turning our farms into weapons to wreak havoc on a critical part of our supply chain. The CCP has proven time and again that they will seek to leverage any ownership interest they have to weaken America, so it’s imperative we fight back. This critical legislation will strengthen our supply chain, protect American farms, and reduce our dependence on China.”

The legislation is part of Congress’s efforts to block the People’s Republic of China investments in the U.S. as a matter of national, food, and economic security. The U.S. currently has laws on the books – the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 – but it largely puts the onus on the purchasing party to self-report land purchases, and fines are rarely levied for misreporting or not reporting at all.

In September of 2013, the President of the People’s Republic of China and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, announced China’s “grand political-economic project,” now known as the Belt and Road Initiative or Debt Trap Diplomacy. Over the last decade, Xi has continued to invest billions into the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

One of Smith’s top priorities as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over U.S. trade policy, is strengthening domestic supply chains to increase U.S. food, energy, medical, and national security. At a Ways and Means field hearing in Petersburg, W. Va., earlier this week, Smith slammed the Biden administration for being “out to lunch” when it comes to negotiating trade that can secure supply chains and increase American jobs. Smith also voted to establish a House Select Committee on China, which received strong bipartisan support and will examine ways to put America in the best position possible against the CCP.