USDA Seeking Input on Ways to Better Support CFIUS Agriculture Reviews
USDA is seeking public comments on ways it can improve its reporting and filing requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, which it said could help the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. better screen investments in land that may pose national security risks.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
The agency said a recent Government Accountability Office report "identified flaws in USDA’s processes for collecting, tracking, and sharing AFIDA data," which includes reports submitted to USDA by foreign people about their ownership interests in U.S. agricultural lands. USDA said it's now aiming to "examine AFIDA regulations and invite public input on changes that would improve information collection activities in a manner responsive to national security and the use of agricultural land," especially because CFIUS uses USDA data from AFIDA filings to find and review transactions, "such as the location of agricultural land near sensitive military bases."
Comments, due Jan. 28, will help USDA consider "future regulatory changes to ensure the regulations effectively address national security interests and the effects of foreign-owned agricultural land on rural communities," the agency said in a Federal Register notice released Dec. 23. USDA said it's open to suggestions for changes that could be made under its current authorities and to changes "that may require new or revised statutory authority. USDA believes that public comment can inform the development of any rule that may ultimately be proposed."