In a joint statement on Tuesday (8), Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and internal security secretary Kristi Noem announced plans from the federal government to ban the sale of US agricultural land to buyers of China and other countries seen as a threat to national security.
According to Rollins, the measure will be evaluated by the administration of Donald Trump and state legislators. There is also the possibility of sales already signed to be revoked, he added.
“We will never let foreign opponents control our land,” said the secretary.
The main threat seen by the United States is the use of spy farms. State and federal legislators have warned China for years and some other countries may use land on American soil to influence the national food supply chain or carry out infiltration activities.
Data from the Department of Agriculture point out that Chinese hold about 128,000 hectares of land in the United States, approximately 0.02% of all agricultural lands in the country.
Last year, Think Tank The Heritage Foundation He released information from military documents that cited at least 14 cases involving attempts at access or illegal surveillance by Chinese citizens within the United States since 2018.
