NORTH DAKOTA AND GEORGIA LEADING ON PROTECTING AMERICAN AG MANUFACTURERS AND SECURING FOOD SUPPLY FROM CCP INFLUENCE
The Protecting American Initiative has spent nearly a year identifying steps that states can take to protect their citizens from the dangerous influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). One of the biggest policy concerns that we have consistently highlighted at both the state and federal levels is the protection of our domestic food supply and farmland.
States Must Protect America’s Food Supply
The communist government in Beijing has spent decades profiling its adversaries and identifying soft targets that are vulnerable to outsized disruption. They understand that food security is national security, and any interruption to our domestic food supply would have rippling effects far beyond our farms and ranches. A robust domestic food supply is critical to maintaining American strength and independence. That is why protecting U.S. farmland and agricultural supply chain from adversarial nations is crucial to our safety.
Protecting U.S. agriculture at every step – from what we plant, to how we feed it, to who owns the land on which it grows – is vital to our nation’s security. Thankfully, states around the country are proactively passing legislation to protect them from doing just that. Governors like Kelly Armstrong of North Dakota and Brian Kemp of Georgia are leading the charge by championing bills to protect Americans and set an example for other states.
ND and GA Lead States on Safeguarding Our Domestic Agricultural Supply Chain
Two important bills (Georgia SB 144 and North Dakota HB 1318) are ensuring protections for U.S. agricultural manufacturers who are in compliance with Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards. North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong signed HB 1318 this week, and Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is expected to sign similar legislation soon. These bills are absolutely critical to protecting America’s agricultural supply chain. Without the commonsense protections in these bills, American agricultural manufacturers will be at a competitive disadvantage to their Chinese competitors.
Here’s How it Works:
American farmers depend on many different products and a robust supply chain in order to feed the world. Those includefertilizers and pesticides to protect crops from insects and other predators that would otherwise threaten crop yields.
The U.S. federal government and agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency set standards to ensure these products are safe and correctly labeled.
Even if they comply with every environmental standard prescribed by the EPA, American companies can still be hit with frivolous environmental lawsuits filed in liberal jurisdictions, increasing costs and risk to American agricultural manufacturers.
Meanwhile, Chinese competitors cannot be sued and become a cheaper alternative to U.S. products. Chinese alternatives supplant American agricultural products in America’s farm supply chains, and global dependence on Chinese fertilizers and pesticide products increases.
This creates a perverse incentive structure wherein more dangerous foreign products are made cheaper and more accessible.
These two bills will ensure that domestic companies will not face frivolous lawsuits if their product complies with stringent EPA regulations. Without state laws to protect American companies that are complying, cheaper Chinese-made pesticides will be used by more and more farmers. Soon enough, the American agricultural industry could become dependent on products from China.
Let’s Keep Up the Momentum
We shouldn’t celebrate these bills as if the fight is over. Other states need to build on bipartisan legislative momentum and pass similar legislation as soon as possible. These bills stop the CCP’s plans dead in their tracks.
The Protecting America Initiative is proud to support these governors and state legislators as they advance these important bills. We will work to educate the public in their own states and around the country about the crucial need to protect the American agriculture industry from the encroachment of the Chinese government.
This organization exists to identify, promote, and pass bills that safeguard American national security. We will use our policy and media influence to score more wins for the American people. That means making sure more bills like Georgia SB 144 and North Dakota HB 1318 are signed into law.