Lawmakers Ask CFIUS to Review Chinese Purchase of US Grain Terminal
Two House members from Illinois urged the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. last week to review a Chinese firm’s recently announced acquisition of a grain terminal in Cahokia, Illinois.
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In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who chairs CFIUS, Reps. Mike Bost, R-Ill., and Nikki Budzinski, D-Ill., asked the committee to review the economic and national security implications of allowing COFCO International, a Chinese state-run company, to buy out its U.S.-based partner in the barge, truck and rail terminal, which is “strategically located” on the Mississippi River near St. Louis.
The lawmakers said they’re concerned the acquisition is part of pattern of Chinese entities increasingly buying up U.S. agricultural assets. Such concerns were reflected in legislation signed into law in March adding USDA to CFIUS to review agricultural transactions (see 2403110058).
The Treasury Department didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the Cahokia terminal.