Chief Executive Officer of Smithfield Foods Inc., C. Larry Pope, was ordered to face lawmakers as the acquisition of his company for US$4.7 billion by Shuanghui International Ltd., a Chinese-run company, generated concerns over U.S. national security.
Smithfield Foods Inc.'s CEO is to defend the transaction and issues relating to the wider consequences of increased foreign ownership of the U.S. agricultural business, product safety, and intellectual property. Pope is scheduled to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee in Washington on July 10.
"Given the size of the target, broad tensions with China and food safety scares there, this is an unprecedented deal that could lead to increasing political storms. It's extremely rare for CFIUS to review a transaction involving a food-product company," said Nova Daly, an analyst at Wiley Rein LLP, through media reports.
China is expected to become the largest purchaser of agricultural goods in the USA this year, surpassing Canada, according to the USDA.
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