# 119-hr-4577: Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2025

119-hr-4577, Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX); status introduced (as of 2026-07-19).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4577
- As of: 2026-07-19
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-4577
- Congress: 119
- Title: Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-07-21
- Sponsor: Rep. Pfluger, August [R-TX-11] (R-TX)
- Cosponsors: 39
- Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-19

## Summary

**Blocks use of foreign ports nationalized or expropriated by certain governments.** It also expands U.S. trade law to treat seizures and nationality-based discrimination against U.S. assets as grounds for trade action. - Shipping and passenger operators: Vessels that were loaded at or previously held at a designated prohibited port cannot import or release goods into the United States, dock in U.S. ports, release passengers, or receive servicing such as repair, refueling, or provisioning. This applies to passenger vessels that carry 149 or more passengers. - U.S. businesses and investors: Expands Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 to add direct or indirect nationalization or expropriation, denial of due process, arbitrary or capricious treatment, and discrimination based on nationality as actionable harms that can trigger trade remedies. - Geographic scope and who is protected: Targets ports and related infrastructure in Western Hemisphere free-trade partners and defines "United States person" to include citizens, lawful permanent residents, and entities at least 50 percent U.S.-owned.

## Cosponsors (39)

- Rep. Sewell, Terri A. [D-AL-7] (D-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] (R-NC), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Bean, Aaron [R-FL-4] (R-FL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Strong, Dale W. [R-AL-5] (R-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brownley, Julia [D-CA-26] (D-CA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Collins, Mike [R-GA-10] (R-GA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gonzalez, Vicente [D-TX-34] (D-TX), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, John R. [R-TX-31] (R-TX), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McDowell, Addison P. [R-NC-6] (R-NC), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carbajal, Salud O. [D-CA-24] (D-CA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Palmer, Gary J. [R-AL-6] (R-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Aderholt, Robert B. [R-AL-4] (R-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Edwards, Chuck [R-NC-11] (R-NC), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Panetta, Jimmy [D-CA-19] (D-CA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. McGuire, John J. [R-VA-5] (R-VA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Tim [R-NC-14] (R-NC), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Goldman, Craig A. [R-TX-12] (R-TX), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Luttrell, Morgan [R-TX-8] (R-TX), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Salazar, Maria Elvira [R-FL-27] (R-FL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cline, Ben [R-VA-6] (R-VA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Duyne, Beth [R-TX-24] (R-TX), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Figures, Shomari [D-AL-2] (D-AL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rogers, Mike D. [R-AL-3] (R-AL), 2025-07-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Yakym, Rudy [R-IN-2] (R-IN), 2025-09-15T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gimenez, Carlos A. [R-FL-28] (R-FL), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Blake D. [R-UT-1] (R-UT), 2025-09-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2025-09-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA), 2025-10-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5] (R-FL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wied, Tony [R-WI-8] (R-WI), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Mann, Tracey [R-KS-1] (R-KS), 2025-10-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moran, Nathaniel [R-TX-1] (R-TX), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Westerman, Bruce [R-AR-4] (R-AR), 2025-11-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Jack, Brian [R-GA-3] (R-GA), 2026-01-30T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Stronger trade tools against expropriation abroad: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would expand Section 301 trade rules to cover harms to U.S. persons’ assets abroad. It would treat expropriation or nationalization, arbitrary treatment, denial of due process, and discrimination by nationality as grounds for action. This could give the U.S. more ways to seek t…
- New bans on ships using seized foreign ports: mixed, medium. If enacted, DHS, with Treasury and State, would have 60 days to list "prohibited" foreign port sites and publish them. A site would count only if it is in a Western Hemisphere country with a U.S. free trade deal, is reachable only through land owned or controlled by a U.S. person, and the foreign g…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027
- 119-hr-452: Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-4577 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4577)

## Related
- [119-hr-8800: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8800)
- [119-hr-452: Miracle on Ice Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-452)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-909: Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-909)
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-842: Nancy Gardner Sewell Medicare Multi-Cancer Early Detection Screening Coverage A…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-842)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4577 (as of 2026-07-19).