Arkansas forces Chinese state-owned company to give up American farmland

On Tuesday, the state of Arkansas ordered a Chinese-owned company to divest itself of 160 acres of agricultural land, under new laws being passed across the US restricting foreign ownership of farmland.

Due to legislation passed by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, Attorney General Tim Griffin said Northrup King Seed Co., a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company, has two years to divest the property in Craighead County.

According to ABC, 24 states now have laws restricting or prohibiting foreign ownership of farmland in response to growing concerns about investments from China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

Under Arkansas law, if a company doesn’t divest from the land, the state can take it to court.

Syngenta was also fined $280,000 by the state for not reporting its foreign ownership under a 2021 state law. The company has 30 days to pay the fine and the company stated that it has updated its filing with the US Department of Agriculture following the change of ownership and has also filed a copy with the state.

Sanders said at a news conference with Griffin, “We will make sure that every company operating in Arkansas is a friend to Arkansas and good to hard-working Arkansans.”