Arkansas orders Chinese company's subsidiary to divest itself of agricultural land

Source: Associated Press

Arkansas orders Chinese company’s subsidiary to divest itself of agricultural land

BY ANDREW DEMILLO
Updated 4:39 PM EDT, October 17, 2023

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas on Tuesday ordered the subsidiary of a Chinese-owned company to divest itself of 160 acres (774,400 square yards) of agricultural land, the first such action under a wave of new laws across the country restricting foreign ownership of farmland.

Attorney General Tim Griffin said Northrup King Seed Co. has two years to divest the property in Craighead County under legislation passed by the majority-Republican Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year.

Northrup is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Company, or ChemChina, a Chinese state-owned company.

“We will make sure that every company operating in Arkansas is a friend to Arkansas and good to hard-working Arkansans,” Sanders at a news conference with Griffin to announce the move.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/china-huckabee-sanders-arkansas-farmland-467a0089a4a2f31de80ad0cbf36c634b