Legislation Search

H.R. 4577: Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2025

This bill is known as the Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2025. Its main purpose is to address concerns regarding properties owned by U.S. citizens and entities that have been nationalized or expropriated by certain foreign governments.

Key Provisions

Identification of Prohibited Property: The bill requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, in conjunction with the Secretaries of the Treasury and State, to identify and designate properties that have been taken over by foreign governments. These properties must meet specific criteria:
- They are located within a foreign trade partner's territory.
- They can only be accessed through land owned or controlled by a U.S. person.
- There has been some form of government action, such as nationalization or expropriation, on or after January 1, 2024.
Prohibited Actions: The bill outlines a series of prohibitions regarding vessels associated with designated prohibited properties. Specifically, it will prohibit:
- Importing goods into the U.S. from these properties.
- Releasing goods into the U.S.
- Docking passenger vessels in the U.S. from these entities.
- Releasing passengers from these vessels into the U.S.
- Conducting maintenance or servicing activities on these vessels in U.S. ports.
Expansion of Trade Act Provisions: The bill aims to amend the Trade Act of 1974 to expand the definition of unreasonable or discriminatory acts, specifically to include:
- Expropriation or Nationalization: Direct or indirect seizure of U.S. person assets.
- Arbitrary Treatment: Actions that are capricious or not based on established law.
- Denial of Due Process: Failure to provide fair legal processes.
- Discrimination by Nationality: Any actions that treat individuals or entities unfairly based on their nationality.

Implementation Timeline

The Secretary of Homeland Security is mandated to complete the identification and designation of prohibited properties within 60 days of the bill's enactment. Once identified, a list of these properties will be provided to various governmental agencies and published in the Federal Register for public awareness.

Definitions

Key definitions included in the bill clarify the scope of terms such as:

Covered Foreign Trade Partner: Countries in the Western Hemisphere that have free trade agreements with the United States.
Prohibited Property: This term specifically refers to ports, harbors, or marine terminals affected by the nationalization actions of foreign governments.
U.S. Person: This term encompasses U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or entities that are predominantly owned by U.S. citizens.

Compliance and Reporting

The bill includes provisions for compliance reporting and specifies the congressional committees involved in oversight of the implementation of the bill's provisions.

Relevant Companies

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This is an AI-generated summary of the bill text. There may be mistakes.

Actions

2 actions

Date	Action
Jul. 21, 2025	Introduced in House
Jul. 21, 2025	Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.

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