ChemChina's Bid for Syngenta Needs Scrutiny, Senators Say
- Lawmakers want Treasury to scrutinize food security risks
- Chinese control of major seed provider worries farm states
Senator Debbie Stabenow talks to reporters on July 28, 2015, in Washington.
Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty ImagesA bipartisan group of farm-state senators called on the Treasury Department Thursday to review a state-owned Chinese company’s proposed acquisition of Syngenta AG over concerns that Chinese control could impact U.S. food security and farm interests.
The senators asked Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to include representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States when it reviews the acquisition by the China National Chemical Corp., or ChemChina. The letter to Lew was signed by Debbie Stabenow, the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee, and three other members of the committee: Democrat Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa.