The Senate has included two amendments to its version of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
The first amendment is the addition of the Outbound Investment Security Act, which would require U.S. companies to report to the Department of the Treasury certain high-tech investments in “countries of concern.”
Senators also included the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act in the NDAA, an amendment that would allow the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to block acquisitions of American farmland by entities from North Korea, Iran, China and Russia.
According to Tori Smith, director of international economic policy at the American Action Forum, the defense bill amendments would expand government intervention in capital flows. She expects the initiative would trigger debates as lawmakers try to reconcile the two versions of the NDAA, noting that the House NDAA version has no provisions related to the Outbound Investment Security Act.
The analyst said Congress should be careful in expanding CFIUS’ coverage, stressing that the committee already has some authority to examine foreign acquisitions of agricultural land.
Smith added that it is likely that Iranian, North Korean and Russian entities are already prohibited from acquiring agricultural land due to various US and UN sanctions.