Norway wealth fund divestment draws GOP Senator McCormick’s Ire

Senator Dave McCormick, an ally of President Donald Trump, urged the White House to consider tariffs and restricting Norway’s access to US markets in response to the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund’s decision to divest from Texas-based Caterpillar Inc.

The Pennsylvania Republican said the administration should have “all options on the table” when deciding how to respond, including sanctioning visas for those who are involved in decisions that negatively affect American companies.

“These decisions constitute a form of economic warfare directed by a foreign government against the US economy that has not been addressed in past trade negotiations,” McCormick said in a Thursday letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Trade Ambassador Jamieson Greer.

The senator added that he had recently returned from a trip to Norway, where he asked Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store about the decision. McCormick said he disagreed with Store’s response that the move was not political.

Norway’s $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund removed the heavy-equipment maker from its fund because of Israel’s use of its bulldozers to destroy Palestinian property in Gaza and the West Bank. The fund held about $2.1 billion worth of shares in the company as of June 30.

Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, another ally of the president, first floated retaliatory actions in a social media post last week. Graham later added that he sent the White House the information about Norway’s divestment.

“I think they were as stunned as I was. What I’ll do is work on restricting visas for the wealth fund,” Graham said in an interview on Tuesday.