Bill Would Add Ag Secretary to CFIUS
Lawmakers introduced a bill last week that would seek to further protect the U.S. agriculture industry from “improper” foreign investment and add the agriculture secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The Foreign Adversary Risk Management Act, introduced in the Senate by Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and in the House by Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, and Filemon Vela, D-Texas, would address that CFIUS “does not directly consider the needs of the agriculture industry when reviewing foreign investment and ownership in domestic businesses,” the lawmakers said.
Along with adding the agriculture secretary to CFIUS reviews, the bill would require the agency to “conduct an analysis of foreign influence” in the agriculture industry and submit findings to Congress. It would also designate agricultural supply chains as “critical infrastructure and critical technologies.”
“Food security is national security, which is why the agriculture industry needs a seat at the table for the foreign investment vetting process,” Tuberville said. “By adding agricultural supply chains as a covered transaction for CFIUS review, we can safeguard our food supply chains and agriculture industry from bad actors.” The bill is one of several that has proposed adding the agriculture secretary to CFIUS (see 2106010003).