Not So Fast: ChemChina Syngenta Takeover Could Draw National Security Scrutiny

State-owned China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina), which plans to buy Swiss seeds and pesticide maker Syngenta, will promptly start preparations for what could be a lengthy U.S. national security review, as the House Agriculture Committee chairman said he would monitor the deal, Diane Bartz reports for Reuters.com.

Representative Michael Conaway, a Texas Republican who chairs the Agriculture Committee, is aware of the deal and “will be closely monitoring this as it develops,” a committee spokeswoman said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

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The $43 billion deal, which was announced on Wednesday as a way for China to better feed its 1.4 billion people, would face scrutiny from a U.S. government panel that reviews foreign acquisitions to establish whether they will harm national security.

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Syngenta, which generates nearly a quarter of its revenue from North America, is the biggest seller of pesticides in North America and also a key player in seeds. Its U.S. headquarters are in North Carolina. It has other facilities in the state, as well a presence in California, Delaware, Iowa and Minnesota, among others.

Read the rest of Bartz’s story over on Reuters.com.

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