Alabama’s senators voiced their endorsement for a bill that aims to impose severe consequences on the Mexican government for their appropriation of Vulcan Materials’ assets in Birmingham.
Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt, both Republicans, expressed their support for the Defending American Property Abroad Act. They are both co-sponsoring this legislation, which aims to prevent the Mexican government from benefiting from its illegal confiscation of Vulcan’s property and port facility in Mexico, among other measures.
The Mexican government took action against Vulcan in May 2022, forcefully shutting down the company’s operations in Mexico. Approximately a year later, armed Mexican military police breached Vulcan’s port facility.
According to Britt, rather than using its armed forces to address the issue of fentanyl, which is causing the deaths of numerous American citizens on a daily basis, the Mexican military focused their efforts on seizing a port that belonged to an American company, specifically an Alabama-based company. Instead of targeting the cartels responsible for the drug trade, Mexico targeted law-abiding Americans.
Under the leadership of then-Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Alabama’s junior senator highlighted the seizure that took place. President López Obrador justified the action by stating that Vulcan’s activities were negatively impacting the environment, leading him to declare the land a nature reserve.
“Let’s be clear: that action violated both Mexican and international law, and it’s concerning that Mexico’s new President [Claudia Sheinbaum] appears to be supporting him,”
Vulcan, according to Tuberville, has been operating in Mexico for three decades. He emphasized that the company has been contributing millions of dollars in taxes to the Mexican government and has also been providing employment opportunities to Mexican nationals at its facility in Quintana Roo, located on the Yucatan Peninsula.
The claim made by the Mexican government that Vulcan has been operating illegally was dismissed by him as “categorically false.”
Tuberville expressed his opinion, stating that the seizure represents an unfounded attack on U.S. companies and showcases a lack of respect for the rule of law.
Alabama’s senior senator expressed confidence in President-elect Trump’s ability to advocate for Vulcan. However, he urged President Biden to utilize diplomatic channels and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to safeguard Vulcan’s essential operations in Mexico.
Tommy Tuberville, a former football coach turned senator, expressed his strong opposition to Mexico’s actions, stating that they cannot be allowed to stand. He emphasized that President Trump shares this sentiment and will take action. Tuberville further argued that Mexico’s actions will have a negative impact on future U.S. investments in the country.
“He said that initiating such a fight is something that any country should seriously reconsider.”
The bill would also prohibit any vessel in the Western Hemisphere that seizes American companies from accessing U.S. ports.
Britt warned that any country found in violation of the bill, should it be passed into law, would face severe consequences.
“The terrorizing of American companies by foreign governments can no longer be ignored,” she declared. “We refuse to passively observe our own government allowing our interests worldwide, even in our own hemisphere, to be targeted.”
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