Rightly or wrongly there was an outcry from the American people about ownership/operation (semantics)of our seaports.
So.
The deal is being delayed/denied.
An Ally would understand that above all else the Goverment of America is (or should be anyway..) beholden to the concerns (justified or not imo) of their populace.
In a free society.
An Ally, who has many contracts and dealings with America, should not fly off the handle and succum to the same "knee jerk" reaction that America(ns) is being accused of.
For example.
I am country X and have 50 current "dealings" with America.
I go to make my 51st deal/purchase and the citizens and/or elected leaders have an issue that snubs the deal.
Yes, we are a counrty of laws. We are also a country that elects leadership to make those laws, and listen to the bosses (thats us) concerns.
Ok, I understand. America is in a war with Islam(ic radicles) and this particular deal makes them unsettled.
Lets hold off on this and maybe pursue other deals..
No wait!
Lets throw a fit!
Like I said, rightly or wrongly Americans are uneasy about this deal, and for the other country to get offended to the point of making these kind of retalliations shows me that they are more "knee jerk" than we ever could be.
Maybe we could shut down all the 7-11's and Cab companys as to be on par with their actions. [/sarc]
"Saving face" is more important than being a ally.
They are doing this out of spite.
And look at what has happened. Our friend has decided that, to protect the friendship, they will voluntarily restructure part of the deal.
My argument has always been that we should NOT BLOCK the deal, because there was no legal basis to do so.
But DP World has made a sound business decision, and I can only hope the republicans in congress will realise their stupidity and drop it. I presume the democrats will push to codify things and to try to get more out of this, because they think it's a political plus for them, but I hope the republicans will start acting like republicans.