The House of Representatives passed bipartisan legislation to grant the president authority to limit U.S. port access for countries that have seized American property abroad.
As Congress remains bitterly divided on the SAVE America Act and funding for the Department of Homeland Security, the Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2026 passed with bipartisan support. The bill, introduced by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, passed by a vote of 247 to 164.
“Today’s House passage of my Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2026 is a necessary step to protect American businesses and workers from unfair treatment overseas,” Pfluger told The Daily Signal.
The impetus for Pfluger’s legislation was a longtime dispute involving the Mexican government and a U.S.-owned port in Mexico. Lawmakers say that Mexico has violated the USMCA trade agreement by attempting to seize control of a port operated by Vulcan Materials.
Vulcan Materials Company, based in Alabama, is one of the nation’s largest producers of construction aggregates.
Pfluger has raised concerns about this dispute since 2022, but in March 2023, Vulcan’s deep-water port at Punta Venado was seized by the Mexican government.
“When countries violate trade agreements and illegally seize assets from U.S. companies, it puts American job security, economic security, and national security at risk. This legislation is critical because it ensures there are enforceable consequences for those actions,” Pfluger said.
“It sends a clear message to any foreign government that the United States will not tolerate this behavior,” Pfluger continued. “We will defend our economic interests, uphold the rule of law, and stand firmly behind American companies operating abroad.
The legislation stipulates that ships may be restricted from entering U.S. waters or unloading at U.S. ports without the president’s approval if these vessels previously stopped at ports previously owned by U.S. entities but later taken over by foreign governments in the Western Hemisphere.
Speaker Mike Johnson congratulated Pfluger on the House passage of the legislation. “U.S. investments abroad have long been essential to both our economic development and national security,” Johnson, R-La., claimed, “and this legislation takes a crucial step to protect and defend U.S. business interests globally.”
“I am thrilled to see this pass with overwhelming bipartisan support,” Pfluger said, “and I will continue advocating for it until it passes through the Senate and is signed into law.”