Beyond the Deal: Navigating Foreign Interest Disclosure Requirements and What’s on the Regulatory Horizon.

The US Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) requires foreign entities, and US entities with as little as 10% foreign ownership, to file a report with the USDA Farm Service Agency within 90 days of buying or leasing agricultural land. Many US companies that use agricultural land for non-ag purposes, such as renewable energy development and data center construction, are unaware of this requirement. In this poster presentation, we will identify how AFIDA applies and who it impacts; review the filing requirements; examine how late- and non-filing penalties work under current law; analyze trends in AFIDA compliance; and give an overview of current legislative proposals to tighten restrictions, migrate to online filing, identify non-filers for enforcement, impose new requirements, and strengthen penalties for violators.