Congress recently passed and President Joe Biden signed HR 4366, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024, which will fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. Included in the spending bill was a provision to add the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review process for covered transactions under the Defense Production Act of 1950 that involve agricultural land or industry. The purpose of CFIUS is to review foreign transactions for their national security implications on the U.S. It is chaired by the U.S. secretary of the treasury and the U.S. Treasury Department is responsible for reviewing proposed acquisitions.
CFIUS was created by President Gerald Ford in 1975 and consisted of several cabinet officials including the secretaries of state, treasury, defense and commerce; the attorney general; the U.S. trade representative; the chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors; and the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
It was designed to be a central group that would review foreign investments, analyze developments and make recommendations to the president. If a purchase by a foreign company raises security concerns, the president has the power to step in and block a transaction that might harm national security.
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