I can’t wait to see if NC Democrats, including the governor, oppose this idea simply because Republicans are pushing it
NC lawmakers want to ban China, Russia from buying up farmland
North Carolina lawmakers plan to move swiftly this week on a bill banning hostile foreign countries from buying local farmland — or any land within 25 miles of one of the state’s many military bases.
The definition of a hostile foreign country is up to the federal government. Right now the list includes China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. None of those own very much land in the U.S., but of them, China owns the most.
Best to stop them now before they get a lot, right?
“I think it’s a pretty sensible issue that has major bipartisan support,” said Rep. John Bell, a Goldsboro Republican who’s a top-ranking leader in the state House.
North Carolina is the nation’s biggest exporter of tobacco, and one of the biggest pork exporters — China is one of the top importers of both. Bell said he’s not aware of China buying up any farmland specifically in North Carolina. He considers that good news and hopes this bill becomes law to make sure it stays that way.
“I don’t know of any of those situations happening in North Carolina so far,” he said in an interview. “But I’d rather deal with it before it happens.”
The House Rules Committee approved the bill, HB 463, on Tuesday afternoon, setting it up for a vote on the full House floor.
None of those countries own much, though private citizens own quite a bit. So, in the case of China, it’s really the government who backstops it. It’s time to get ahead of this before those nations buy up lots of land, like China has in Africa and Asia. Do not let them buy stakes in airports and ports. Heck, America really shouldn’t be letting any foreign nations buy property, other than for embassies and consulates. Canada and the Netherlands own lots of US farmland. Heck, it’s bad enough that the U.S. government owns huge amounts of what shoudl be state land.
