Story perspectives

Trump Rejects Ban on Chinese Farmland, Blames Democrats

5/16/2026

Summary

Story summary

President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he will not block Chinese purchases of farmland, saying it would depress land values and lower prices, reversing his earlier pledge.
Trump blamed the Democratic Party and Barack Obama for allowing them.
Chinese entities own about 0.52 percent of foreign-held acres (0.02 percent of all U.S. farmland); the July 2025 National Farm Security Action Plan that threatened fines and prison is now in doubt.

History

Historical Context

FIRPTA introduced a withholding tax on foreign U.S. land sales to limit overseas ownership. Its regulatory spirit resurfaced in the 2007 Foreign Investment and National Security Act and in British Columbia’s 2016 foreign-buyer tax of 20 %, both designed to curb foreign real-estate purchases. President Donald Trump’s recent pledge not to block Chinese farmland revives the same debate.

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Story summary

President Donald Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity he will not block Chinese purchases of farmland, saying it would depress land values and lower prices, reversing his earlier pledge.
Trump blamed the Democratic Party and Barack Obama for allowing them.
Chinese entities own about 0.52 percent of foreign-held acres (0.02 percent of all U.S. farmland); the July 2025 National Farm Security Action Plan that threatened fines and prison is now in doubt.

1 / 2