NC lawmakers want to ban China, Russia from buying up farmland

NC lawmakers want to ban China, Russia from buying up farmland

I personally believe this is an excellent idea, I think foreign countries should absolutely not own essential supply chain items like property especially those countries we have problems with.

NC lawmakers want to ban China, Russia from buying up farmland

Written by Will Doran, WRAL state government reporter

North Carolina lawmakers plan to move swiftly this week on a bill banning hostile foreign countries from buying local farmland — or any land within 25 miles of one of the state's many military bases.

The definition of a hostile foreign country is up to the federal government. Right now the list includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. None of those own very much land in the U.S., but of them, China owns the most.

"I think it's a pretty sensible issue that has major bipartisan support," said Rep. John Bell, a Goldsboro Republican who's a top-ranking leader in the state House.

North Carolina is the nation's biggest exporter of tobacco, and one of the biggest pork exporters — China is one of the top importers of both. Bell said he's not aware of China buying up any farmland specifically in North Carolina. He considers that good news and hopes this bill becomes law to make sure it stays that way.

"I don't know of any of those situations happening in North Carolina so far," he said in an interview. "But I'd rather deal with it before it happens."

The House Rules Committee approved the bill, HB 463, setting it up for a vote on the full House floor.

Many other states are considering similar proposals, ranging across the political spectrum from New York and California to North Dakota and Utah. The bipartisan support extends to North Carolina, too. A number of Democrats co-sponsored the bill including Rep. Robert Reives of Chatham County, the Democratic leader in the House.

By all accounts, these types of bills in state legislatures across the country aren't targeting anything that's already happening — China is responsible for just a tiny fraction of foreign-owned land inside the United States, which is itself a tiny fraction of the total amount of American land.

Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, reported last month that China owns just over 383,000 acres of land in the U.S.

That's roughly the same total area as Harnett County.

Most of that land, Stateline reported, transferred to Chinese ownership in 2013 when a Chinese company that's partially owned by the Chinese government bought Smithfield foods.

But in North Carolina, Smithfield doesn't typically own the farms where its pigs are raised. It contracts out with local farmers instead. Bell said he ran the bill past the North Carolina Pork Council, which advocates for pork producers, and they didn't oppose it.

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