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

This section defines "prohibited property" as any port, harbor, or marine terminal (including relevant infrastructure such as docks, conveyors, and storage facilities) located in a covered foreign trade partner (i.e., a Western Hemisphere country with a U.S. free trade agreement) that is accessible only through land owned or controlled by a U.S. person (i.e., U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or 50%+ U.S.-owned entity) and that has been nationalized, expropriated, or subject to contract repudiation by the partner government's agencies or officials on or after January 1, 2024. Not later than 60 days after enactment, the Secretary of Homeland Security—in consultation with and with concurrence from the Secretaries of the Treasury and State—must identify and designate all prohibited property, provide the list to relevant agency officials and specified congressional committees, and publish it in the Federal Register. The President must prohibit any vessel loaded or previously held at designated prohibited property from (1) importing or releasing goods into the United States; (2) docking a passenger vessel (i.e., one authorized to carry 149+ passengers with onboard sleeping facilities) in the United States or releasing its passengers into the United States; or (3) conducting dry docking, repairs, refueling, or other maintenance in the United States.

This section expands the list of unreasonable foreign acts, policies, or practices under Section 301(d)(3)(B) of the Trade Act of 1974 to include a new clause (v) covering, with respect to assets of a U.S. person, (I) direct or indirect expropriation or nationalization, (II) arbitrary or capricious treatment, (III) denial of due process, or (IV) discrimination on the basis of nationality. (Section 301 authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to investigate such practices that burden or restrict U.S. commerce and, if warranted, to impose trade measures such as tariffs or restrictions on imports from the foreign country.)