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Floor Speech
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Mr. TUBERVILLE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak about what I believe are unlawful actions taken by the Government of Mexico against Vulcan Materials Company, which is headquartered in Birmingham, AL.
Vulcan is the Nation's largest producer of construction aggregates, primarily crushed stone, sand, and gravel.
Vulcan is also a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials like asphalt and ready-mixed concrete.
The materials produced by Vulcan are used in nearly all forms of construction, like infrastructure repairs to bridges or roads or when a new office building is being built.
While headquartered in Alabama, Vulcan has 720 facilities and more than 12,000 employees across the United States.
Its reach is also international. Vulcan has operated a quarry in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico since the 1980s. The quarry supplies aggregates to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Texas. Vulcan has quarried limestone legally in Mexico on land that it owns for over 30 years. It has full ownership of its property in Mexico and owns the limestone reserves on the property. Vulcan also operates the only deepwater port on the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. Vulcan operates that port because Vulcan built that port.
Furthermore, it is my understanding that Vulcan has always complied with Mexican law and permitting, which is why I was shocked to hear Mexican President Lopez Obrador announce that he would pursue legal actions to close Vulcan's operations. His baseless claim is that the company is operating illegally in Mexico after 30 years. That statement is categorically false.
Unfortunately, President Obrador followed through with his threat for legal action. Last week, Mexican Government officials unexpectedly presented local Vulcan employees with orders to immediately cease operations on Vulcan's own land in Mexico. I believe this shutdown, ordered by the President of Mexico, represents a baseless attack on a U.S. company and demonstrates a disregard for the rule of law.
But even before shutdown orders were issued, Vulcan was subject to public harassment and intimidation tactics from the President of Mexico, including the Mexican Navy sending troops to the entrance of the Vulcan facility for the last several days before last week, the Mexican Navy flying Blackhawk helicopters and drones over Vulcan's property, the Mexican Navy sending patrol boats to Vulcan's harbor, and the Mexican Government withholding the issuance of a routine customs permit from January through mid-February.
These actions by the President and Mexican Government are contrary to the most basic principles of international law and the free-trade agreements that bind our two countries together. These actions also go against the objectives and principles jointly set by the U.S. and Mexican Governments as part of the high-level economic dialogue established in September of 2021.
However, President Obrador's attack on Vulcan is bigger than just one company. It undermines the rule of law in Mexico, ignores international law and free-trade agreements, weakens our bilateral relationship, and will discourage future U.S. investments in Mexico.
We have all heard about the actions President Lopez Obrador has attempted to take against U.S. energy companies in Mexico. This latest action is an example of just how far he is willing to go.
These actions will also have a direct impact on the supply chain for major infrastructure projects in the United States. We cannot allow this to stand.
Back in February, Senator Shelby and I wrote Secretary Blinken to express alarm over actions Mexico was taking against Vulcan. It turns out we were right to be concerned. So I urge the Biden administration to take appropriate action in order to ensure Vulcan, a great American company, is able to maintain critical operations in the country of Mexico.
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