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Course Details

Course Information
  • smart_display Format

    On-Demand

  • signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level

    Intermediate

  • work Practice Area

    Real Property - Transactions

Date & Time
  • event Date

    Thursday, January 11, 2024

  • schedule Time

    1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT

  • timer Program Length

    90 minutes

Credit Information

  • This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.


  • Live Online


    On Demand

$347.00

This course is $0 with these passes:

CLE
ALL

This CLE webinar will guide practitioners through the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) and its reporting requirements for foreign persons with an ownership interest in U.S. agricultural land. The panel will discuss AFIDA's broad definition of what constitutes "agricultural land" as well as the low threshold for who is considered a "foreign person" to educate counsel on who may unknowingly be within the scope of coverage and could be subject to steep penalties for noncompliance. The panel will also address interaction with other federal and state laws and best practices for compliance.

Faculty

Marisa N. Bocci
Partner
Arnold & Porter LLP

Ms. Bocci works on a range of transactional matters, including purchase and sale agreements, financing, and leasing. Her practice focuses on hotel and resort properties, commercial real estate assets, and agriculture/agribusiness matters. In the agriculture sector, Ms. Bocci has specific experience in matters relating to farmland real estate investments. She handles transactions across the country involving the purchase, sale, leasing and financing of farmland. Further, she is familiar with operational issues specific to the food packing and processing industry, including supply chain and labor arrangements. In addition, she also advises clients on agribusiness-related M&A transactions and regularly speaks and writes on agribusiness topics.

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Kari L. Larson
Partner
Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer, LLP

Ms. Larson is a member of the firm’s Real Estate practice. She focuses on commercial real estate, including the acquisition, disposition, leasing, financing, and development of commercial, timber, and food and agribusiness holdings, including controlled environment agriculture (CEA) facilities. She regularly represents borrowers and lenders (foreign and domestic) in lending transactions secured by commercial and agricultural properties, including the negotiation of intercreditor and co-lender arrangements. Ms. Larson also regularly advises clients on investment in various food and agribusiness assets. She regularly counsels clients with respect to general matters affecting the ownership and operation of timber, farmland, and other agribusiness assets. Ms. Larson has particular experience in advising clients on regulatory issues impacting the growing, processing, manufacturing, and distribution of food products, including issues under the Food Safety Modernization Act and state regulatory schemes, supply chain management issues, and transportation issues. Additionally, she regularly advises on jurisdiction-specific permitting, licensing, certification, and product-specific requirements for producers, processors, and retailers (including online retailers) of food, including those applicable to CEA facilities. She also counsels clients on filing requirements for foreign investors under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act and analogous state statutes. In the renewable energy sector, Ms. Larson has experience in addressing real property and title issues arising in the acquisition, development, and financing of wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects across the United States, and reviews and negotiates wind and solar leases on behalf of landowners.

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Description

Foreign ownership of U.S. real estate has increasingly come under government scrutiny and is the focus of much federal and state legislation. While many practitioners are familiar with CFIUS' requirements, AFIDA, an often-overlooked federal law, has reporting requirements related to the foreign ownership of agricultural land with steep penalties for noncompliance. AFIDA requires a foreign person or entity to disclose the acquisition or transfer of any interest in U.S. agricultural land to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and to report when the land subsequently becomes or ceases to be agricultural land or any owner subsequently becomes or ceases to be a foreign person.

The statute has a low threshold of who constitutes a "foreign person" including domestically organized entities if a significant interest or substantial control of such entity--with as little as a 10 percent ownership stake--is directly or indirectly held by foreign persons. The statute also has a broad definition of what constitutes "agricultural land" including land purchased for non-agricultural purposes that may still be subject to AFIDA's reporting requirements.

Therefore, counsel should understand AFIDA's coverage so they can advise their clients who may unknowingly be considered foreign owners of agricultural land under the statute's broad scope. Counsel should also understand AFIDA's interaction with other federal and state laws--especially since over half of U.S. states have some level of restriction on foreign interest in agricultural land.

Listen as our expert panel guides real estate practitioners through AFIDA including who is subject to its reporting requirements, the reporting process, penalties, and best practices for compliance. The panel will also address AFIDA's interaction with other federal and state laws requiring the disclosure of foreign ownership interest in U.S. real estate.

Outline

  1. History of AFIDA and legislation governing foreign ownership of U.S. real estate
  2. Navigating AFIDA
    1. Foreign persons
    2. Agricultural land
    3. Covered ownership interests in agricultural land and exemptions
    4. Reporting requirements and deadlines
    5. Penalties
    6. Other considerations
  3. Interaction with other federal and state laws requiring disclosure of foreign ownership interests in U.S. real estate
  4. Best practices for compliance

Benefits

The panel will review these and other important considerations:

  • How may AFIDA's broad definition of "agricultural land" require reporting for land that is not purchased for agricultural purposes?
  • How does the statute's definition of "foreign person" encompass domestic entities?
  • Under what circumstances may a domestic entity become a "foreign person"?
  • What are the statute's reporting requirements?
  • What are the penalties for noncompliance?
  • How does AFIDA interact with other federal and state laws requiring disclosure of foreign ownership interests in U.S. real estate?