Defending American Property Abroad Act of 2026

What this does

This bill lets the President bar foreign vessels from U.S. ports based on where they have already been. It amends Section 70022 of title 46 to create a new class of restricted vessel: one that transited a port, harbor, or marine terminal that at the time was inside a Western Hemisphere country with a U.S. free trade agreement, was reachable only through land owned or controlled by a U.S. person, and had been designated by the President. The President may designate such a facility if the trade partner's government nationalized or expropriated it, or the land providing its exclusive access, while it was owned or controlled by a U.S. person, or took any action with that effect. A facility already the subject of a pending free-trade-agreement arbitration may not be designated on that basis. The President must remove a designation once the country restores the U.S. person's ownership, pays adequate and effective compensation, or the dispute is otherwise resolved. The bill also adds exceptions letting a covered vessel enter during an emergency or when the facility's owner has authorized its transit. The House passed the bill on March 27, 2026.