Why is Congress just now trying to stop China from buying land in USA?!

[justaschmuck9]

I live in an area of Canada referred to as "Foodland Ontario". Just before I retired in 2016, I completed the legal work on the sale of a 100 acre farm in the nearby countryside to a man who had recently emigrated to Canada from China. We acted for the Canadian vendor who was selling out and retiring. The sale price was right around a $1 million, and the Chinese farmer paid CASH.

Like you, I'm wondering why we're selling some of the best farm land in Canada to Chinese nationals, and where the hell does a peasant farmer in a communist country get $1 million dollars to pay cash for this property????

The yahoos in Congress don't appear to care..

They have their security... and the money they need to live a good life. Why should they care about anyone else? Human nature (selfishness) is disgusting. And it appears most in Congress couldn't care less that they are seen as never rising above it.

 

[Rambunctious]

Why is Congress just now trying to stop China from buying land in USA?!​

Probably because Pelosi didn't get her cut....

 

[JohnDB]

Kinda disingenuous IMHO....

A decade or more ago Roche (with American assistance) bought up 80% of all the star anise groves in China. What Roche and the USA knew but China didn't was that the hottest new antiviral drug was built on a molecule made from this spice.
And when Tamiflu hit the market everyone wanted some but the USA stopped all sales to anyone as the Government was busy stockpiling it and not letting it be released on the open market.
A couple of different manufacturers had issues making it as its volatile chemistry to produce...a couple of facilities burned to the ground during production. Maybe it was retaliation, maybe not.

But now China is buying American farms.
Money goes into PRC but it doesn't come out....so how are they getting the funds to buy the farms?

 

[justaschmuck9]

Why is Congress just now trying to stop China from buying land in USA?!​

Probably because Pelosi didn't get her cut....

yeh... I'd like to know how much an 80 yr old woman facing death in a few years really needs

while she steps over homeless people on the sidewalk on her way to Chinatown for some good Chinese..

How much Chinese food does she need anyway?

Does she ever offer any to the poor homeless people? Nah... too busy ducking and diving, weaving and bobbing to get away from them asap... on to another insider trading deal!

$50 million is not enough!!!!!!!!

 

[Concerned American]

You'd be surprised by how much U.S. farmland is owned by other countries...

It has been going on for a long time. The Chinese bought Pebble Beach many years ago and may still own it. At one time in the past 30 years there was an attempt by Dubai to control security at US ports--this one nearly got past congress. Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the US is owned by China. At one time in the 80s, the concessions at Yosemite Nat'l Park were almost purchased by a Chinese owned company in the LA area. That deal was nearly completed before congress figured it out. The Japanese were buying large tracts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta in CA for cattle production before it was figured out and legislation was drawn up to prevent it.

 

[hjmick]

It has been going on for a long time. The Chinese bought Pebble Beach many years ago and may still own it. At one time in the past 30 years there was an attempt by Dubai to control security at US ports--this one nearly got past congress. Smithfield Farms, the largest pork producer in the US is owned by China. At one time in the 80s, the concessions at Yosemite Nat'l Park were almost purchased by a Chinese owned company in the LA area. That deal was nearly completed before congress figured it out. The Japanese were buying large tracts of the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta in CA for cattle production before it was figured out and legislation was drawn up to prevent it.

Here are the top 50 countries:

Foreign Countries That Own the Most U.S. Land – Page 2 – 24/7 Wall St.

Source: kieferpix / iStock via Getty Images 50. Philippines > Total area of U.S. land owned: 3,760 acres > Total land value (at time of purchase): $7.3 million > Number of investors: 31 > Primary landholding region: West (2,237 acres) Source: benedek / iStock via Getty Images 49. Channel Islands...

247wallst.com

For land owned, Canada is number one... China isn't even in the top ten, they're number 17...

 

[Rambunctious]

yeh... I'd like to know how much an 80 yr old woman facing death in a few years really needs

while she steps over homeless people on the sidewalk on her way to Chinatown for some good Chinese..

How much Chinese food does she need anyway?

Does she ever offer any to the poor homeless people? Nah... too busy ducking and diving, weaving and bobbing to get away from them asap... on to another insider trading deal!

$50 million is not enough!!!!!!!!

Gold fever is a real phenomena and obviously serving in our federal government is equal to gold... That we need to change....

 

[justaschmuck9]

Gold fever is a real phenomena and obviously serving in our federal government is equal to gold... That we need to change....

yeh, we should deluge Congress with angry complaints

and then do it again in a few wks

and again after that.. Maybe some day they will listen

 

[Dragonlady]

Could be directly from the Chinese government, that is just a guess however.

That was my first thought. Canada has an "entrepreneurs" immigration program which says if you're bringing $400,000, have prior business experience, and promise to start a company, you can be fast tracked into Canada. My guess is they're sending these guys over with the money, and once here, they're buying farms.

What's less clear is what is the purpose/plan behind it.

 

[Dragonlady]

yeh, we should deluge Congress with angry complaints

and then do it again in a few wks

and again after that.. Maybe some day they will listen

They're about as likely to stop doing it as they are to reform campaign financing. Imagine if all of that money spent on election campaigns was spent on something useful, like schools, hospitals, roads, climate change.