Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025
The Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025 would expand U.S. government review of foreign involvement in agriculture by amending the Defense Production Act of 1950. It adds the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for covered transactions that involve agricultural land, agriculture biotechnology, or the broader agriculture industry (including transport, storage, and processing). It also creates a process for the Committee to evaluate certain agricultural land deals—specifically those that a foreign person from China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran may be acquiring and for which reporting is required under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The bill directs CFIUS to determine whether such a transaction is covered and whether to initiate a review or take other action. The reporting requirements would sunset when those adversary countries are removed from the government list of foreign adversaries in 15 C.F.R. 791.4. Overall, the bill strengthens national and food security oversight by bringing agriculture-related land and industry transactions into CFIUS consideration.
Key Points
- 1Adds the Secretary of Agriculture as a CFIUS member for covered transactions involving agricultural land, agriculture biotechnology, or the agriculture industry (including transportation, storage, and processing).
- 2Establishes a process for evaluating certain agricultural land transactions: after the Secretary of Agriculture reports a potential “reportable agricultural land transaction,” CFIUS must decide if the deal is covered and whether to start a review or take other action.
- 3Defines “reportable agricultural land transaction” as a land acquisition by a foreign person from the listed countries (China, North Korea, Russia, Iran) that involves agricultural land and for which a report must be filed under AFIDA.
- 4Requires CFIUS to base determination on information from or in cooperation with the intelligence community and to assess whether the transaction should proceed to review.
- 5Includes a sunset provision: the reporting requirements tied to these foreign adversaries end when those countries are removed from the list of foreign adversaries in 15 C.F.R. 791.4.