This bill adds the Secretary of Agriculture to a government committee that reviews foreign investments in the United States, specifically when those investments involve American agriculture. Right now, when foreign companies or investors want to buy American agricultural land or businesses, various government agencies review whether it poses a national security risk. This bill says the Agriculture Secretary needs to be part of that decision-making process.

The bill focuses on transactions involving three things: agricultural land itself, agricultural biotechnology (like seeds and farming technology), and the broader agriculture industry including transportation, storage, and processing of farm products. The Agriculture Secretary would automatically join the review committee whenever one of these types of deals comes up.

There's a special focus on purchases by foreign investors from four specific countries: China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. When the Agriculture Secretary learns about a potential purchase of farmland by someone from these countries, they can alert the review committee, which then decides whether to investigate the deal more closely. This extra scrutiny would automatically stop if any of these countries is removed from the government's official list of foreign adversaries.

Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025

Cramer, Kevin

Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025This bill makes changes to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including by requiring CFIUS to determine whether a national security review is necessary for reportable agricultural land transactions that are referred by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (CFIUS oversees the national security risks of certain foreign investment in the United States. CFIUS has the authority to review covered transactions, which include&nbsp;mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers that could result in foreign control of a U.S. business; certain investments in businesses involved in critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data; and certain real estate transactions.)Specifically, the bill directs CFIUS to, after receiving notification from USDA, determine (1) whether a reportable agricultural land transaction is a covered transaction, and (2) whether CFIUS should initiate a national security review or take another action with respect to the transaction.&nbsp;Reportable agricultural land transaction means a transaction (1) that USDA has reason to believe&nbsp;is a covered transaction, based on information from or in cooperation with&nbsp;the intelligence community; (2) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran; and (3) with respect to which a foreign person is required to submit a report to USDA regarding their agricultural land transactions.The bill also expands CFIUS to include the Secretary of Agriculture for covered transactions that involve agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, or the agriculture industry (e.g., agricultural transportation, storage, and processing).