WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced the Securing American Food Equity (SAFE) Act to permanently add the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process and clarify that agricultural assets are considered critical national security infrastructure that CFIUS must consider before it approves the sale of any major U.S. food and agriculture companies.
“We’re seeing more and more foreign investment in our agriculture assets, and it’s something we need to be very aware of. The transactions that are occurring today will shape the food industry for decades to come. We need to be thinking strategically about who will control our food supply tomorrow,” Grassley said. “Food security is national security.”
“We’re a couple years into a new ownership structure in the United States where nearly half the pork shackle space is already controlled by foreign ownership. Last week, two military generals testified to Congress about how food security is a pillar of national security,” Grassley added.
The review process completed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is a voluntary system of notification by investors. Firms largely comply with the provision, because foreign acquisitions that do not notify the committee remain subject indefinitely to divestment or other actions by the president. Upon receiving written notification of a proposed acquisition, merger, or takeover of a U.S. firm by a foreign investor, the process can proceed.
The text of Grassley’s bill can be found here.
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