AFIDA In Focus: Navigating USDA’s Proposed Rule After the Comment Period

Since June 2026, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has proposed a sweeping overhaul of the regulations implementing the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), including a significantly expanded definition of “agricultural land,” a broadened “beneficial owner” standard, a lowered threshold for who qualifies as a “foreign person,” and narrowed exemptions for leases and easements. The public comment period on the proposed rule closed on August 10, 2026, drawing substantial attention from commercial real estate developers, energy and infrastructure companies, AgTech companies, and institutional investors.

Please join us for a webinar examining what comes next. Arnold & Porter attorneys with substantive knowledge of AFIDA and the proposed rule will be joined by colleagues who bring deep administrative law and Administrative Procedure Act (APA) rulemaking experience, drawing on the firm’s broader Administrative Law & Regulatory Litigation practice, which advises clients on all phases of the federal rulemaking process and has secured precedent-setting outcomes under the APA. Together, they will summarize the proposed rule, discuss key themes and hot topics raised during the comment period, review USDA’s historical rulemaking practices under AFIDA, and place the proceeding in the broader context of APA rulemaking and administrative law.

Topics

• An overview of USDA’s proposed changes to the AFIDA regulatory framework
• Themes and hot-button issues raised in the public comments submitted on the proposed rule
• USDA’s historical approach to AFIDA rulemaking and what it may signal for the path to a final rule
• Broader APA rulemaking and administrative law principles that inform how agencies build, and defend, a rulemaking record
• How those principles may shape USDA’s next steps and any resulting litigation risk as it moves toward a final rule

Discussion will be led by Burden Walker, Former Deputy Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, and Senior Counselor to the U.S. Attorney General, and Claire Dennis, Former Associate Chief Counsel at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Who Should Attend

This program is designed for existing and prospective clients that utilize foreign investment as part of their equity structure and that own or lease rural land in the United States, including for purposes unrelated to agricultural production, such as renewable energy, infrastructure, and path-of-growth real estate holdings.