Top Republican lawmaker sounds alarm after Chinese agricultural company gets approval to create ‘genetically engineered soybeans’ for US consumption
The USDA’s suspiciously quick approval of Chinese biotech company Qi Biodesign should raise major alarm bells, said John Moolenaar, chairman of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), a Republican from Michigan.
That company, which specializes in gene editing, is partly funded by the Chinese government, he alleges in a letter to President Biden’s USDA Sec. Tom Vilsack, obtained exclusively by DailyMail.com.
And the company specifically poses a threat to the secrets of American agricultural companies, he says.
His concerns come amid growing concerns about China’s interference in U.S. agricultural operations, which includes more than 940,000 acres of farmland near sensitive military bases.
Chinese entities own agricultural land in 29 of the 50 US states, totaling 347,000 acres
“Make no mistake, Qi Biodesign and other similar Chinese companies are directly supported by the Chinese government with the explicit goal of copying and replacing American agricultural biotechnology,” Moolenaar wrote to Vilsack.
The Michigan Republican’s warning to the secretary included a list of questions seeking clarification on U.S. agricultural companies’ relationships with Chinese counterparts, details about Qi Biodesign’s approval process and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s trade agreements with the People’s Republic of China.
‘We are writing to express our concerns regarding the recent positive decision by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) regarding genetically engineered soybeans from the agricultural biotechnology company Qi Biodesign of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which may allow future sales into the United States.’
“As you are aware, the People’s Republic of China has consistently refused to honor its own commitments to facilitate regulatory approval of U.S. agricultural biotechnology, leaving some U.S. agricultural biotechnology companies waiting years for Chinese government approval,” the letter said.
The chairman further said that USDA has given the PRF company the opportunity to be “front of the line” in the approval process, while “U.S. companies continue to face significant delays.”
“It appears that USDA facilitated the review of Qi Biodesign’s regulatory status within a matter of weeks, which raises questions about the level of due diligence and motivation behind the expedited review.”
“We therefore ask you to immediately review the regulatory status assessment of Qi Biodesign.”
“Moreover, the well-documented theft of American intellectual property by the People’s Republic of China has repeatedly extended to the theft of American agricultural technology, through cyberattacks and outright theft of physical seeds,” Moolenaar writes.
In addition to the chairman, five other members signed the letter.
Reps. Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), Carlos Gimenez (R-Fla.) and Ben Cline (R-Va.) also signed the letter.
Qi Biodesign, a Chinese company, received USDA approval within weeks to sell its “genetically engineered soybeans,” raising concerns among Republican lawmakers
China’s seizure of US farmland close to sensitive military sites is under heightened scrutiny.
Congress recently introduced a number of restrictions in the yet-to-be-passed Farm Bill of 2024 to limit the People’s Republic of China’s ability to purchase American land.
The upcoming House Farm Bill will include measures to prevent foreign entities like China from grabbing American farmland, a major victory for national security, a Republican who was previously involved in securing the provisions told DailyMail.com.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, foreign interests own a total of 40 million acres of U.S. farmland, and China has bought up nearly 347,000 acres.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, amended the legislation to include provisions that would make it easier to track purchases of U.S. farmland by foreign entities.
“Communist China should not be allowed to buy another acre of American farmland, nor should we have to rely on our greatest foreign adversary for key parts of our food supply chain,” Hinson told DailyMail.com in late May.
Chinese companies own 346,915 acres of US farmland as of December 2022
A combine harvester cuts, threshes and cleans soybeans in Waynesfield, Ohio
And Chinese leaders see dominating the agricultural market as a way to gain a strategic edge over the US, lawmakers say.
“Qi Biodesign and companies like it are playing a critical role in General Secretary Xi Jinping’s bid to become self-sufficient in agricultural technology at the expense of American farmers and businesses,” Moolenaar said in his letter.
“Since the Chinese Communist Party sees a direct link between agriculture and national security, the U.S. Department of Agriculture must be vigilant and protect American farmers from exploitation by the People’s Republic of China.”
The Republican asked for a response from the USDA by August 1.