Treasury Department Focuses on Foreign Land Ownership

We know that foreign ownership of U.S. land—especially U.S. farmland—has been a hot topic in recent years. Now, the U.S. Treasury Department is expanding its power to review certain property deals involving foreign investors near sensitive military sites across the country. This new rule adds over 60 military installations to the list of areas where the Treasury’s Committee on Foreign Investment, or CFIUS, can scrutinize real estate transactions to protect national security.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the rule is a "significant milestone" in ensuring that foreign interests don’t compromise the security of critical defense installations. The rule also increases oversight around 10 existing military bases, expanding protections in areas where real estate markets—and farmland in particular—are often of interest to foreign investors.

As agricultural communities consider the impact of this rule, it’s clear that protecting U.S. land from potential external threats is a top priority under the current administration and one that is expected to carry through to the next.