Senate Republicans launch effort to ban Chinese nationals from buying land in US

FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators are putting distant authorities that would prohibition China from buying U.S. onshore entirely. 

The Not One More Inch oregon Acre Act, led by Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota and Katie Britt of Alabama, would necessitate the merchantability of onshore owned oregon "influenced" by the CCP that is deemed a nationalist information risk. It would nonstop the president to instrumentality enactment to prohibit the acquisition of nationalist oregon backstage existent property successful the U.S. by Chinese citizens oregon companies.

China owned astir 350,000 acres of farmland crossed 27 states arsenic of past year, according to information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

As of 2022, overseas entities and individuals held 43.4 cardinal acres of U.S. cultivation land, which is astir 2% of each onshore successful the U.S.

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Lawmakers person argued that China’s onshore buys are a nationalist information hazard since galore of them are adjacent subject installations. For years, Chinese nationals person attempted to breach U.S. subject facilities, often done the usage of surveillance drones oregon posing arsenic tourists. 

"For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has been gobbling up American farmland and existent estate," Cotton, seat of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said successful a statement. 

"At best, this submits American onshore and resources to China’s champion interests, not America’s—at worst, these purchases service arsenic outposts for Chinese espionage campaigns against American businesses and subject bases. We can’t let Chinese citizens, oregon anyone affiliated with the CCP, to ain 1 much inch of American soil. And immoderate American onshore exploited by existent Chinese ownership should beryllium sold."

Some states person already barred overseas nationals from purchasing land.

Smithfield Foods, which has a Chinese genitor company, makes up the largest stock of Chinese-owned onshore with 110,000 acres. 

A 2022 Chinese onshore acquisition brought concerns to a fever transportation erstwhile nutrient shaper Fufeng Group bought 370 acres for maize milling adjacent a North Dakota Air Force base.

"One acre of American farmland owned by the Chinese Communist Party is 1 acre excessively many," said Britt. "The CCP's strategical acquisition of farmland, peculiarly adjacent our subject installations, isn't conscionable a nationalist information risk, it is simply a menace to our economical and nutrient security."

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That prompted the Biden medication to suggest a regularisation requiring immoderate overseas institution oregon idiosyncratic looking to bargain onshore wrong 100 miles of definite U.S. subject bases to get authorities approval.

Last month, a Chinese nationalist was arrested astatine San Francisco International Airport earlier helium could committee a formation to China connected accusations that helium tried to alert a drone implicit Vandenberg Air Force basal successful California.

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Efforts to thwart China from purchasing U.S. farmland adjacent U.S. subject installations have gained steam among Republicans successful some chambers. 

"It's a large interest for maine that countries similar China person accrued purchases of American farmland tenfold implicit the past decennary to power our onshore and endanger our food, vigor and nationalist security," Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, who led efforts successful the House to prohibition China from buying farmland suitable for vigor production, told Fox News Digital.