U.S. Senator Cramer (R-ND) penned an op-ed in the Washington Examiner regarding American land acquisitions by entities with ties to foreign adversaries. He discusses the importance of exercising diligence at every level of government and strengthening food supply chains. The piece is in the context of the Fufeng Group’s move to buy acreage within 12 miles Grand Forks Air Force Base, a key Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) facility and home to a Space Development Agency ground control system.
“Fufeng’s efforts to buy up North Dakota farmland should have been met with immediate skepticism. But our experience became a textbook example of how fragmented systems lead to hot potato blame games, widespread confusion, and bitterly divided communities. All too often, much of government’s response is reactionary, and not proactive,” wrote Senator Cramer. “Thankfully, the Air Force publicly stepped up in January 2023 and left ambiguity off the table by releasing a letter outlining how this land purchase is a threat to national security in both the near and long-term. The process was tough on the Grand Forks community, but it sent a powerful message to our state and nation on what to avoid.”
“While North Dakota’s recent experience highlighted the threat of foreign investment in close proximity to one of our critical Air Force bases, national security apprehensions over foreign purchases of agricultural land and facilities are not limited to those near military installations. Every land acquisition, investment, corporate merger, and building of agricultural facilities, influenced by foreign adversaries, is another step away from American ownership and sovereignty over our own food systems and supply chain. Instead of farms operated by the same family for generations, foreign investors with opaque and often suspect ties to adversarial governments use economic development as a guise for their ulterior motives,” concluded Senator Cramer.
Foreign Investment and America’s Adversaries Moving in Next Door
By Senator Kevin Cramer
4.25.2023
What if your next door neighbor hacked your passwords, stole your data, and spied on you and your family’s every move? You’d confront them or move because turning a blind eye wouldn’t be an option. Why should our military or critical supply chains be any different?
After Grand Forks, North Dakota city officials first announced the Fufeng Group’s purchase of 370 acres of land and plans to build a wet corn milling plant, concerns from the local residents quickly grew. Not only is Grand Forks the third largest city in the state, it is also home to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, an important Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) facility, and home to a new Space Development Agency ground control system for a tranche of satellites.
There is a lot of sensitive data coming in and out of the base, tempting our adversaries to interfere with or steal confidential information. That’s where Fufeng comes in. The company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party are alarming, but they tried to hide their malicious intent behind the benevolence of economic development.
Fufeng’s efforts to buy up North Dakota farmland should have been met with immediate skepticism. But our experience became a textbook example of how fragmented systems lead to hot potato blame games, widespread confusion, and bitterly divided communities. All too often, much of government’s response is reactionary, and not proactive.
My goal is to change that. Since I first heard of Fufeng’s project, I waved red warning flags and made it my mission to get answers to the decision makers. “Clumsy” is the most polite word to describe the experience. In July, I joined Sens. John Hoeven and Marco Rubio in requesting the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review the purchase of the land. As an interagency committee, CFIUS assesses potential national security concerns regarding foreign investments in the United States.
By December, after an extension to receive supplementary information, CFIUS simply concluded it did not have jurisdiction without any further analysis. After multiple briefings, meetings, and reports with federal officials where concerns were raised, CFIUS ignored the spirit of their mission and punted on a technicality. Thankfully, the Air Force publicly stepped up in January 2023 and left ambiguity off the table by releasing a letter outlining how this land purchase is a threat to national security in both the near and long-term.
The process was tough on the Grand Forks community, but it sent a powerful message to our state and nation on what to avoid. Just a few weeks ago, the North Dakota legislature passed a bill barring foreign purchase of agricultural land with very narrow exceptions.
State restrictions of purchases are a starting point, but the onus for food security, and by extension national security, falls on the federal government. The Fufeng saga highlighted how disjointed and insufficient the federal review system is.
Legislation has been introduced in both the House and Senate to take on this fight. I have introduced multiple pieces of legislation with my colleagues to add the Secretary of Agriculture to CFIUS; protect the agriculture industry from foreign control; and recognize food supply chain as the critical infrastructure it is. We must strategically decouple from countries like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, by preventing further acquisition of land or businesses involved in U.S. agriculture.
Federal action is required, but this starts with communities across the nation following the lead of Grand Forks’ citizens who rejected a cavalier attitude toward foreign investment in their backyard.
While North Dakota’s recent experience highlighted the threat of foreign investment in close proximity to one of our critical Air Force bases, national security apprehensions over foreign purchases of agricultural land and facilities are not limited to those near military installations. Every land acquisition, investment, corporate merger, and building of agricultural facilities, influenced by foreign adversaries, is another step away from American ownership and sovereignty over our own food systems and supply chain. Instead of farms operated by the same family for generations, foreign investors with opaque and often suspect ties to adversarial governments use economic development as a guise for their ulterior motives.
Pushback from local communities, our military, Congress, and a more focused CFIUS, will bring much needed transparency and clarity to the conversation, making us think twice about who we are letting move in next door.
