Safeguarding American Farms from Foreign Influence Act

To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to determine whether a national security review is needed for reportable agricultural land transactions referred by the Secretary of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Safeguarding American Farms from Foreign Influence Act 2. Consideration of certain agricultural land transactions Section 721(b)(1) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(b)(1) (I) Consideration of certain agricultural land transactions (i) In general Not later than 30 days after receiving notification from the Secretary of Agriculture of a reportable agricultural land transaction, the Committee shall determine— (I) whether the transaction is a covered transaction; and (II) if the Committee determines that the transaction is a covered transaction, whether the Committee should initiate a review pursuant to subparagraph (D), or take another action authorized under this section, with respect to the reportable agricultural land transaction. (ii) Reportable agricultural land transaction In this subparagraph, the term reportable agricultural land transaction (I) that the Secretary of Agriculture has reason to believe is a covered transaction; (II) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person, other than by a foreign person of an excepted foreign state or an excepted real estate foreign state, as such terms are defined in regulations prescribed by the Committee; and (III) with respect to which a person is required to submit a report to the Secretary of Agriculture under section 2(a) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. .

Summary: Safeguarding American Farms from Foreign Influence ActThis bill requires the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (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 mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers that could result in foreign control of a U.S. business; certain noncontrolling investments in businesses involved in critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data; and certain real estate transactions. The President may, at the recommendation of CFIUS, suspend or prohibit transactions that threaten to impair U.S. national security.)Specifically, the bill directs CFIUS to, within 30 days of 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. Under this bill, reportable agricultural land transaction means a transaction (1) that USDA has reason to believe is a covered transaction; (2) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person, other than by a foreign person of an excepted foreign state or an excepted real estate foreign state, as such terms are defined in CFIUS regulations; and (3) with respect to which a foreign person is required to submit a report to USDA regarding their agricultural land transactions.