Portman said negotiations on a bilateral trade pact with the United Arab Emirates would go on. But trade experts said Thursday that the escalating controversy over DP World's purchase would make that difficult because it is feeding sentiments in the region that U.S. policies are anti-Arab and hypocritical.
"The basic message is, 'Americans want to invest here, but they don't want us to invest there,' " said Gary Hufbauer, a trade specialist at the Institute for International Economics.
Given the high emotions surrounding the Dubai transaction, even some U.S. business leaders say the U.S. should revisit how open its economy should be.
Todd Malan, executive director of the Organization for International Investment, opposes blanket restrictions on foreign ownership in any sector. But he agreed policymakers might want to treat investment by government-owned companies differently from commercial entities.
"Some of this stuff is red herrings and demagoguery," he said. "But at its core, there are some very legitimate issues we have to deal with."
Times staff writer Ronald D. White contributed to this article.
