Jefferson Reporter

U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) have introduced the Defending American Property Abroad Act. The legislation aims to impose retaliatory measures against Mexico if it profits from the seizure of Vulcan Materials Company’s property and port facility in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

If enacted, any vessel that uses a port, land, or infrastructure seized illegally from a U.S. entity by a foreign nation in the Western hemisphere would be barred from entering a U.S. port. The act also mandates that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security identify and ban such ports from U.S. trade and requires the U.S. Trade Representative to report to Congress on how these expropriations will be addressed during the 2026 review of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

Senator Britt commented, “Make no mistake–President López Obrador’s scheme to seize Vulcan’s deep-water port would represent a flagrant expropriation of a lawfully permitted, U.S.-owned operation, and his administration’s assault on the rule of law is putting America’s and Alabama’s economic and national security interests in jeopardy.” She added that this bipartisan legislation signals that "the United States is prepared to meet President López Obrador’s illegal actions... with crushing consequences."

Senator Hagerty stated, “I strongly condemn AMLO’s threats against Vulcan Materials Company and am pleased to see this bipartisan rebuke from the United States Senate.” He emphasized that no nation or president should bully an American firm without facing consequences.

Senator Kaine highlighted, “In recent years, Mexican President López Obrador has unfairly targeted Vulcan Materials Company... That’s why I’m introducing this bipartisan legislation with my colleagues to deter Mexico and any country in our hemisphere from illegally seizing U.S. assets.”

Senator Tuberville criticized ongoing aggression towards American businesses: “For more than a year, Mexican President López Obrador has continued to show undue aggression toward American businesses... The Biden-Harris administration has refused to stand up to President López Obrador’s threats.”

Vulcan Materials Company is based in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2018, it initiated NAFTA arbitration against Mexico due to harassment and unlawful shutdowns on its property in Quintana Roo. In May 2022, production at its site was fully shut down by Mexican military forces under orders from President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

On March 14, 2023, Vulcan's port facility at Punta Venado was confiscated by Mexican military forces at gunpoint. Following this event, Senator Britt led efforts condemning the seizure and wrote a bipartisan letter to Mexico's Ambassador Esteban Moctezuma.

Despite these actions, threats persisted until May 2024 when Senators Britt, Kaine, Hagerty, and Tuberville urged Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alicia Bárcena for resolution.

The full text of the Defending American Property Abroad Act can be found online.