New York Senators Remain Skeptical of Dubai Port Deal
New York senators remain skeptical of Dubai port deal
NEW YORK, March 10 (Xinhua) — Despite news that a United Arab Emirates-owned company has pulled out of the deal to take control of several U.S. ports, including two in the New York area, some local senators are still pushing for a complete shutdown of the deal.
Some senators are still concerned that the announcement still leaves the door open for DP World to retain some sort of control over the ports.
In a statement issued earlier this week, the Dubai-based DP World said it is giving up its management stake in the ports. The U.S. government was in the midst of conducting a 45-day safety review of the company before the deal could be finalized.
Britain’s High Court approved the takeover of British shipping company P&O by DP World last week, clearing the way for the company to seize control of the U.S. ports.
Members of Congress had been pushing provisions to block the deal, even though the president had vowed to veto any legislative attempts to kill it.
Lawmakers are eyeing the DP World’s statement to make sure it addresses all their security concerns. Some local lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, said the deal to hand over U.S. ports to foreign entities should be more tightly reviewed.
“We cannot roll the dice when it comes to the security of our nation, and the way that this deal was approved initially, the secret nature by which the investigation occurred – casual, cursory – is simple not good enough,” said Senator Charles Schumer.
He said earlier there is a better way to ensure that U.S. ports remain free of foreign control. “Today’s vote in the Senate on my amendment showed that there’s overwhelming support in the Senate to just shut down this deal,” said Schumer.
While the details of the DP World offer are yet to be hammered out, Republican Rep. Peter King from Long Island, who is chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement: “It would have to be an American company with no links to DP World, and that would be a tremendous victory and very gratifying.”
DP World’s announcement at first seemed to have headed off a potential battle between the president and Congress. But the president came out swinging again Friday, addressing the issue of the port deal for the first time since DP World back out.
President George W. Bush said the United States is sending mixed messages to allies around the world with its resistance to the port deal, and especially to leaders in the Middle East. Bush said the UAE represents a moderate Arab country, and one with whom the U.S. needs to maintain good relations in order to win the war on terror. It is unclear what company would assume control of the ports in the place of DP World.