On Friday, September 13th, Republican congresswoman Michelle Steel from California submitted a legislation to Congress to block America’s primary adversaries from managing US ports through their state-owned enterprises. She believes that allowing the state-owned enterprises of these hostile nations to control critical shipping infrastructure in the United States could potentially harm the country’s supply chain.
The proposed bill aims to prohibit companies fully or partially owned by state-owned enterprises of China (CCP), Russia, North Korea, and Iran from operating or managing US ports.
According to a report by Fox News Digital on Friday, Congresswoman Steel stated that allowing enemies to manage US ports would disrupt the American supply chain as it would grant them access to crucial shipping infrastructure.
She emphasized that the bill aims to “protect America’s economy and national security when faced with threats from Communist China and its like-minded allies.”
She further stated, “Congress must safeguard America’s supply chain by restricting high-ranking officials of enemy nations from managing our ports. Nations that threaten America’s existence should not have easy access to our port infrastructure, which is the vital lifeline of our supply chain.”
Congresswoman Steel’s office highlighted that several state-owned enterprises owned by the CCP have a significant presence in US ports, including China Ocean Shipping Company (COSCO) on the West Coast and China National Cereals, Oils, and Foodstuffs Corporation (COFCO) on the Mississippi River.
Born in Korea and raised in Japan, Congresswoman Steel immigrated to the United States. She is the first Korean-American woman to serve in the US Congress.
From 2021 to 2023, she served as a federal congresswoman for California’s 48th Congressional District. Since 2023, she has been representing the 45th Congressional District.
In Congress, she maintains an anti-communist stance. On her official website, she has expressed, “The crimes of human rights violations by the Chinese Communist Party are numerous. As a member of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China, I have been working with my colleagues to raise awareness of the threat posed by the CCP and develop policies to counter their aggression and influence.
“My parents fled the authoritarian government of North Korea so that their descendants could grow up freely. The CCP seeks to oppress its people and threatens free countries like the United States. As long as I am in Congress, I will not allow such things to happen.”