A group of U.S. Senators are calling for a national security review of the Brazilian acquisition of a U.S. beef company.
Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, along with Ranking Senate Agriculture Committee Member Debbie Stabenow, and others, are urging the Committee on Foreign Investment to review the proposed purchase of National Beef Packing Company by Brazil’s Marfrig Global Foods. The Senators point out that the proposed acquisition follows a 2017 corruption scandal in Brazil’s food safety system that revealed unacceptable safety and quality issues with Brazilian beef intended for the American market, which included Marfrig Global. Citing the Smithfield acquisition by a Chinese company, and the ChemChina-Syngenta merger, the senators say “it has become increasingly clear that growing foreign investment in U.S. agriculture requires a thorough review process to safeguard the American food system.” The senators also asked the Treasury Department to include both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration in the reviews of foreign acquisitions of major U.S. agriculture assets.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.