WASHINGTON (TNND) — President Donald Trump has the power to deem China an enemy to stop them from buying farmland in the U.S., says China expert Gordon Chang.
“He might be loath to declare China an enemy, but in fact it is,” Chang said. “They call us an enemy. And also, he just has inherent powers to protect the United States. So I think that he does have the authority to do this. And this really is important because there is a clear and present danger.”
This comes as U.S. lawmakers are working to ban the sale of U.S. farmland to foreigners. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins rolled out her USDA National Farm Security action plan alongside Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem.
During Trump’s most recent cabinet meeting, Rollins held up a visual that read foreign persons had an interest in nearly 45 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S. at the end of 2023.
“We are taking this purpose and our American farmland back,” Rollins said. “American agriculture is not just about feeding our families, but about protecting our nation and standing up to foreign adversaries.”
At its core, the plan prevents Chinese nationals and citizens of foreign adversaries from buying American farmland. It aims to secure the American food supply and protect American farmers.
Chang argued that Trump can use presidential powers to take this plan a step further and invoke the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977 or the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917.
“No American can own a square inch of land in China,” Chang said. “So why do we allow the Chinese to own square miles of land in our country?”
Chang acknowledged that his views on China may seem extreme to some. But the Trump administration’s talks about Chinese nationals purchasing farmland are indicative of where the political mainstream is going when it comes to U.S.-China relations, Chang said.
Although some of the things that I talk about, we are witnessing more and more malicious Chinese activities. So I think it will become politically acceptable in the future to take some of these drastic actions, because I think that some of the threats are imminent, and we’ve got to be really concerned and think about the urgency of what’s going on.
Some states have laws that enact restrictions on the sale of farmland to foreigners.
“Clearly, we need to have all 50 states on board on this,” Chang said. “But we’re starting to see more and more evidence of malign Chinese intent and activities.”
The USDA National Farm Security action plan was released on the backdrop of a Chinese agro-terrorism attack.
A Chinese couple with alleged ties to the Chinese Communist Party is facing federal charges after being accused of smuggling a potentially dangerous agricultural fungus into the U.S. The fungus causes “blight that affects crops, such as wheat, barley, perhaps corn, but also livestock and humans,” Chang said.
“What they were bringing in was genetically modified to make it more dangerous to agriculture and livestock,” Chang said. “So we’ve got to have a look at what they actually were trying to smuggle in.”
