S. 805 · 118th Congress
Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 118th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
D
BrownSponsor9 cosponsors · 4 D, 5 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill increases penalties for, and establishes additional enforcement mechanisms related to, fraudulent and grossly negligent violations of U.S. customs laws.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 15, 2023
Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023
This bill increases penalties for, and establishes additional enforcement mechanisms related to, fraudulent and grossly negligent violations of U.S. customs laws.
Specifically, the bill increases the maximum civil penalty for a fraudulent violation to three times the domestic value of the merchandise. Further, the bill prohibits a person who commits a fraudulent violation from importing merchandise into the United States for a five-year period.
Additionally, the bill increases the maximum civil penalty for a grossly negligent violation to the lesser of (1) 3 times the domestic value of the merchandise; or (2) 10 times the lawful duties, taxes, and fees. It also prohibits a person who commits a grossly negligent violation from importing merchandise into the United States for a two-year period.
Further, the bill applies these importation bans to an affiliated person (e.g., a family member, partner, or employee) of the person who committed the fraudulent or grossly negligent violation.
The bill also establishes a private right of action for customs fraud or grossly negligent violations. In particular, the bill allows manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, labor unions, or trade associations to bring a civil action against a violator or any person that aids or abets a violator.
The bill prohibits any person (or an affiliated person) who commits a fraudulent or grossly negligent violation from participating in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Importer of Record program, and further requires their importer of record numbers to be revoked.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023
Latest action (Mar 15, 2023): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy area: Foreign Trade and International Finance · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 15, 2023
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.