The LAND Act (H.R. 2124) would require that foreign purchasers of agricultural land be subject to the same restrictions as United States citizens or nationals would face when buying agricultural land in their home country, in addition to any applicable restrictions under state law. To determine the “home country” for purchasers with multiple citizenships or corporate structures, the bill relies on a Task Force to identify the country with the most restrictive laws on agricultural land purchases. The measure creates a U.S. Land Protection Task Force to monitor and report on foreign land purchases, and it imposes reporting and notification requirements for sales and ongoing compliance. The overarching goal is to tighten foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land and provide transparency about where such land is located and whether it is near sensitive sites like military installations. The bill would increase regulatory scrutiny of foreign purchases, potentially reduce the volume of such purchases, and create ongoing government review through the Task Force and regular Congress reporting. It combines home-country restrictions with state-level purchase rules, and adds a structured process for determining home-country status in complex citizenship scenarios.
Key Points
- 1Foreign purchasers must be subject to the same restrictions as a U.S. citizen/national would face in the purchaser’s home country, plus any applicable state restrictions in the state where the land is located.
- 2Home-country determination rules:
- 3- Dual or multiple citizenship: treat the other country (or the most restrictive non-U.S. country, per the Task Force) as the home country for purposes of applying restrictions.
- 4- Foreign purchasers who are non-U.S. citizens: treat their country of citizenship (or the most restrictive among multiple) as the home country.
- 5- Purchasers that are companies: treat the country with the most restrictive agricultural land purchase laws (where the company has at least 5% ownership) as the home country.
- 6- Foreign governments are treated as belonging to the country the government represents.
- 7Notification requirements:
- 8- Sellers must report each sale of agricultural land to a foreign purchaser to the Secretary of Agriculture.
- 9- The Secretary must notify relevant U.S. Senators from the state and the member representing the congressional district where the land is located.
- 10U.S. Land Protection Task Force:
- 11- Composition: Secretary of Agriculture (Chair), Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), National Security Division of the DOJ, and the Secretary of State.
- 12- Reporting: Not later than 1 year after enactment and every 6 months thereafter; reports cover share of land sold to foreign purchasers (by land type), states where sold, average purchase cost, title history, and whether any land lies within 100 miles of a military installation.
- 13Severability: If part of the act is struck down, the rest remains in effect.
- 14Definitions:
- 15- Agricultural land: as defined by the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.
- 16- Foreign purchaser: both a foreign person and U.S. citizens who are citizens of another country.