A senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee is calling on the Trump administration to investigate potential national security risks associated with a nearly completed bid by the world’s largest meat processor to list its shares on Wall Street.
The meatpacking giant JBS has racked up billions of dollars in fines and settlements in recent years related to alleged bribery, price fixing and the purchasing of cattle raised illegally in protected regions of the Amazon rainforest. South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson said the company should be scrutinized by a secretive interagency panel led by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that reviews corporate transactions involving foreign investment for potential issues related to national security.
JBS is on the cusp of being able to list its stock in the U.S. — a move that could strengthen its ability to attract new investors and further empower the Batista family that runs the company.
“Controlled by private shareholders in Brazil, with initial funding by the Brazilian government, JBS USA and its parent company have a history of criminal activity, including a number of related Brazilian and U.S. prosecutions,” Wilson said in a statement to POLITICO’s E&E News.
