Arkansas forces Chinese seed producer with ties back to ChemChina to sell 160 hectares of American farmland
- Syngenta must sell 160 acres of agricultural land in Craighead County
- The company faces a $280,000 fine for not promptly disclosing its foreign ownership
- The order is part of state law that bars certain states from owning land
Arkansas has ordered a Chinese-owned seed producer to sell land it owns in the state over national security concerns.
Syngenta has been ordered to divest 65 hectares of agricultural land in Craighead County, Arkansas within two years.
The order is the first of its kind under state legislation passed earlier this year that bans certain foreign countries from acquiring or owning land.
Syngenta, which is ultimately owned by government-run ChemChina, owns Northrup King Seed Co., which operates in the state. China is among the banned parties because it is subject to U.S. arms export controls known as the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
“This is about where your loyalties lie,” Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: Reuters reported.
Chinese seed producer Syngenta has been ordered to divest 160 hectares of farmland in Arkansas to comply with new legislation banning some foreign countries from owning land
The Craighead County site has been owned for 35 years by Northrup King Seed Co., a subsidiary of Syngenta and ChemChina.
The governor said countries that may be hostile to the U.S. could use knowledge of U.S. agricultural practices to their advantage.
“Seeds are technology,” she added. “The Chinese-owned state corps is filtering that technology back to their homeland, stealing American research, and telling our enemies how to target American farms.”
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin also revealed that the company had missed the June deadline to disclose foreign ownership, meaning he would impose the maximum fine of $280,000.
The company has 30 days to pay the fine and can take further action if it refuses.
Griffin called the decision “smart and strategic” and said if the company doesn’t comply with the order, the state could consider stripping it of ownership through the courts.
Agriculture is the state’s largest industry and the area is a major exporter of rice, soybeans, cotton, poultry and feed grains.
The company will also be fined $280,000 for failing to promptly disclose its foreign ownership
Huckabee Sanders signed Act 636 earlier this year, which bans foreign entities from owning agricultural land.
Syngenta has owned the Craighead Country site for 35 years.
The company has emphasized that China has never dictated which tracts of agricultural land it should buy or lease, or what actions it should take.
“The order for Syngenta to divest 400 acres of agricultural land in Craighead County, which the company has owned since 1988, is a short-sighted action that fails to take into account the effects of such an action, whether intended or not, on the U.S. agricultural sector. market,” spokesman Saswato Das told Reuters.
“Our people in Arkansas are Americans led by Americans who care deeply about serving Arkansas farmers.”