Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2026

Summary

Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2026 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. (Currently, the maximum penalty is the domestic value of the merchandise.) It 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. (Currently, the maximum penalty is the lesser of the domestic value of the merchandise or four times the lawful duties, taxes, and fees.) It 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 or employee) of the person who committed the fraudulent or grossly negligent violation. The bill establishes a private right of action for an interested party (e.g., a manufacturer) affected by customs fraud or grossly negligent violations. 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 revocation of their importer of record numbers.

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Timeline

1. 9 February 2026

   Introduced

   Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

   Source: IntroReferral

2. 9 February 2026

   Introduced

   Introduced in Senate

   Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

No version snapshots stored. Document URLs remain at the source.

Documents

2 official files

• Introduced in Senate

  Introduced in Senate · EN · 9 February 2026

  DownloadOpen at official source

• Introduced in Senate

  summary · EN · 9 February 2026

  Open at official source

Sponsors

• Sen. Britt, Katie Boyd [R-AL] · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Baldwin, Tammy [D-WI] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. Tillis, Thomas [R-NC] · R · Sponsor
• Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] · D · Sponsor
• Sen. McCormick, David [R-PA] · R · Cosponsor
• · ssfi00 · Standing

Related records

• related to → Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2025