Mobile Courant

U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) have introduced the Defending American Property Abroad Act, aimed at imposing retaliatory measures against any Western Hemisphere nation that unlawfully seizes American assets. This move comes in response to actions by the Mexican government to seize a deep-water port owned by Alabama-based Vulcan Materials Company, which both senators claim is a violation of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The proposed legislation would prohibit vessels from entering U.S. ports if they had previously used ports or infrastructure illegally seized from a U.S. entity by a foreign nation in the Western Hemisphere. It also mandates that the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security identify and ban such ports from U.S. trade and requires the United States Trade Representative to report to Congress on these expropriations during the upcoming USMCA review scheduled for 2026.

"For more than a year, Mexican President López Obrador has continued to show undue aggression toward American businesses, primarily Alabama’s Vulcan Materials," said Senator Tuberville. "The continued escalation against Vulcan’s operation in Mexico is a disgrace to the longstanding trade agreement between our two countries that has been in place for 30 years."

Joining Senators Tuberville and Hagerty in co-sponsoring this legislation are U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

In May 2022, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador shut down Vulcan’s operations with claims that the firm was violating its contract. Since then, multiple lawsuits have been filed against Vulcan under AMLO's direction, including military and law enforcement interventions at its facility in Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Earlier this year, Senators Tuberville, Britt, Hagerty, and Kaine sent a letter to Alicia Bárcena, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, urging action regarding what they describe as mistreatment of Vulcan Materials Company by the Mexican government.

Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and serves on several committees including Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, and HELP.

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