Treasury to expand control over foreign land deals near US military bases

On Monday, July 8, the United States Treasury Department announced a major expansion of its power to give approval of whether or not foreigners can buy land near U.S. military sites. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the move is meant to “defend America’s national security.”

For years, U.S. national security officials warned of Chinese and other foreign-backed companies spying on American infrastructure and defense installations.

The proposed plan will add 56 military facilities across 30 states to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States review list. Its total oversight will grow to 227 military bases.

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The Treasury Department’s announcement comes less than two months after the committee forced a Chinese-backed cryptocurrency company and its partners to sell land purchased within a mile from an U.S. Air Force Base in Wyoming. That base is home to part of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Among the other bases added to the review list are the Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, which is home to the only squadron of nuclear-capable B-2 Stealth Bombers, and Camp Grayling in Michigan, a U.S. National Guard base.

The designation could impact a more than $2.6 billion plan by a Chinese company to build electric vehicle battery parts within a mile of the installation. That project is estimated to create more than 2,000 jobs in Michigan.

The United States already issued major tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies from China over fears that China could use them for espionage.

The proposed rule would be the largest expansions of committee’s real estate jurisdiction since its inception in 2018. A public comment period is now underway and will last 30 days before officials make a final decision on the proposal.