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The American Farm Bureau Federation is calling for modernization of agricultural foreign investment disclosure laws. Michael Clements dives into topics of public interest.
Clements: The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, passed in 1978, provides for the tracking and monitoring of investments in U.S. agriculture. But Danny Munk, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the process is ripe for an upgrade.
Munch: Now, that process hasn’t been updated in over 40 years. So the Department of Agriculture is asking the public how they can improve the form to answer the question, can we add other questions to make the survey better, and how can we provide better information? We have opened a public comment period to provide other general advice. this topic.
Clements: Munk says the current process is full of inefficiencies and insufficient information.
Munch: Currently, filling out the data form will only list major investors and only their countries. This means that there are many minority stakeholders who are not listed and are essentially shielded from public data. Currently, USDA is legally limited to raising ownership to only the third tier level. So let’s say you have multiple entities with each other or you have a dummy company. His third tier of ownership is very difficult to pass. Therefore, it is not always possible to reach the last possessing country that may be the most useful in the end. To know about.
Clements: Munk said that in addition to modernization, AFBF is also seeking stronger enforcement.
Munch: This form is self-reporting and penalties are only for late reporting, not failure to report. Therefore, improving the general enforcement of the law and filling out forms is our top priority. Second, a lot of information about what questions can be added and expanded to find out what foreign investors are doing on the land, as well as a general modernization of the program using online systems. commented and provided.
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