Exclusive: Congress pushes bipartisan bill preventing Mexico’s ‘illegal seizure’ of American assets

Congress is leading a latest bipartisan effort in Washington, D.C., this time to protect American interests abroad.

Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas is leading the charge to protect American property from foreign aggressors and any “unreasonable” or “discriminatory” practices inflicted upon them, according to bill text obtained exclusively by Blaze News. This effort is also being led by Democratic Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, and Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia.

‘No nation should be allowed to bully an American firm without consequences.’

“American companies operating abroad should not have to fear arbitrary government actions that undermine their property rights,” Pfluger told Blaze News. “The Defending American Property Abroad Act will ensure that such actions do not go unchecked and that American businesses are protected from unjust expropriation.”

“The protection of American property rights abroad is essential for fostering economic growth and maintaining our national security,” Pfluger added. “I urge my colleagues in Congress to support this critical legislation and send a clear message that the United States will not tolerate unjust actions against American companies.”

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  Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

The specific case that inspired the legislation pertained to the Vulcan Materials Company, one of the largest producers of construction aggregates. Although it is an American company, Vulcan has facilities in both the United States and Mexico, making it a crucial part of the infrastructure in both countries.

Vulcan has been operating a limestone quarry in Mexico since 1986, but was unlawfully invaded and shut down by the Mexican government in May 2022. This act of aggression greatly affected the supply and distribution to the United States, and it put American jobs at risk.

“I strongly condemn the Mexican government’s threats against Vulcan Materials Company, and I am pleased to see this bipartisan and bicameral rebuke from the United States Senate,” Hagerty told Blaze News. “Under the leadership of Mexico’s previous president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, and now the current president, Claudia Sheinbaum, the Mexican government is committing a blatant theft against a major American company and, by extension, the United States itself.”

“No nation should be allowed to bully an American firm without consequences,” Hagerty added. “Our legislation will counter any attempt by the Mexican government to profit from illegal moves to expropriate, nationalize, or otherwise seize U.S. assets.”

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  Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Pfluger and Hagerty’s Democratic counterparts expressed similar concerns, saying the Mexican government’s actions were harmful to both business and diplomacy.

“The Mexican government’s unfair targeting of Vulcan Materials Company, a U.S.-based company that employs over 1,000 people in Virginia, is harmful to the relationship between our two countries and severely undermines investor confidence,” Kaine told Blaze News. “That’s why I’m joining my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to deter the illegal seizure of U.S. assets.”

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