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Arkansas AG orders divestment of Chinese-owned farmland in Craighead County

October 19, 2023 |  Image source |  Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin ordered Northrup King Seed Co., a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, LLC, owned by China National Chemical Company (ChemChina) to divest its ownership of approximately 160 acres of land in Craighead County. Under the authority granted under Act 636 of 2023 by the General Assembly to ban prohibited foreign entities from owning Arkansas agricultural lands, ChemChina has two years to divest the land. The firm also received a civil penalty of $280,000 for not filing required disclosure documents on time.

Act 636 of 2023 bans foreign-owned companies from nine nations from owning agricultural land in Arkansas. Those nations are: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, and Vietnam.

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said at a press conference on October 17th, “Seeds are technology. China’s state-owned corporations filter that technology back to their homeland, stealing American research and telling our enemies how to target American farms. That is a clear threat to our national security and to our great farmers.”

 

 


 

Arkansas orders Chinese-owned seed company to sell its farmland – Arkansas Advocate

Link To Full Article HERE

 


 

Attorney General Griffin Orders Divestment of Chinese-Owned Land and Imposes $280,000 Civil Penalty

Link To Full Article Here

Read the letter to Northrup King Seed Co. and Syngenta Seeds, LLC, HERE

 


 

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