The budget committee of the U.S. House of Representatives believes that no more farmland should be sold to Chinese investors. Additionally, Chinese agricultural companies in the U.S. should no longer be eligible for agricultural subsidies.
This would exclude China from buying more American farmland and from U.S. agricultural subsidies. The House representatives have added this amendment to their approval of the $197 billion USDA-FDA annual budget. The Senate and the U.S. government still need to approve it.
The approval of the amendment is the latest sign of the increased economic rivalry between China and the United States, as part of the trade war between the two largest economies in the world.
Some American politicians say that ownership of nearly 192,000 hectares of farmland by Chinese investors in the U.S. was a national security issue. Others fear a witch hunt against Americans of Chinese and Asian descent.
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, former President Trump more or less stated that the outbreak was China’s fault, and that China did too little regarding biosecurity.
The ban on Chinese purchases of farmland in the U.S. and on subsidies to Chinese agricultural firms would be a step "to ensure that the American food supply chain remains safe and independent, especially after all the food disruptions we all experienced during the recent coronavirus pandemic," the amendment's sponsors argue.
Earlier this month, U.S. President Biden discussed with the European Union (EU) the idea of 'jointly confronting' the still-growing Chinese economy. Biden wants to agree on a joint strategy with the EU countries.
Partly for that reason, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Vilsack will soon visit Brussels. But voices are also rising within the EU warning against taking an anti-China course. Those voices say that the EU should not become a 'sidecar' for Washington.