Posted September 17, 2014
Senate
Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow is developing new legislation
to change how the government reviews foreign investors’ purchases of American
companies, according to an U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee release available here. Farm Futures also published an article available here
and Politico here.
Stabenow’s
concerns were voiced during a PBS Newshour Investigation highlighting the acquisition
of Virginia-based Smithfield Foods by Shuanghui International, which would be
the largest American company purchase by China.
“Food
security is national security,” said Stabenow in the report available here. “And
I can’t imagine that the American people will feel comfortable if they wake up
someday and find that half of our food processors are owned by China. And
I think there are some very, very tough questions that need to be answered.”
The
Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. approved the sale even with
concerns from the agriculture industry, according to Farm Futures.
Stabenow
was “relatively skeptical” of the situation.
"I'm
all about exports, I want to see us export our products but it seems to me
removing the unfair barriers from China would be a lot quicker and more
efficient than saying the only way they can get in is if they own our company.
That just doesn't make sense to me," said Stabenow.
For more
information, the two-part PBS Newshour
investigation is available here.
For more information on
international law and organizations, please visit the National Agricultural Law
Center’s website here.
