Sponsors (2)
The bill strengthens enforcement by raising penalties and deterrence against illegal exports—boosting national security and Commerce’s tools—but increases costs and legal uncertainty for exporters, potentially deterring trade and raising consumer prices.
Exporters, national-security stakeholders, and the broader public: increases financial deterrents against illegal exports, which should reduce unlawful transfers of controlled items and improve U.S. national security.
Department of Commerce and enforcement regimes: raises the potential penalty amounts available to Commerce, enabling stiffer penalties for serious violations and strengthening regulatory enforcement tools.
Small exporters, businesses, and consumers: increases potential financial liability and compliance costs for exporters, which could deter marginal exporters and prompt firms to pass costs on to customers, raising prices or reducing market participation.
Exporters, regulators, and courts: a malformed statutory insertion in the text creates legal uncertainty about the new penalty cap, risking litigation, inconsistent enforcement, and delays in applying the changes.
Based on analysis of 1 section of legislative text.
Raises civil penalties for Export Control Reform Act violations: quadruples the transaction multiplier and replaces the flat cap (text for the new cap is malformed).
Official title: Amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 to increase the civil penalties that may be imposed under that Act.
Introduced June 24, 2026 by John Neely Kennedy · Last progress June 24, 2026
Increases civil penalties for violations of the Export Control Reform Act by raising the transaction-based multiplier from twice the transaction value to four times the transaction value and by replacing the existing flat statutory cap with a new, higher cap (the statutory text for the new cap is malformed). The changes apply to violations committed on or after the date of enactment. The amendment affects companies and individuals who export controlled items or participate in transactions subject to export regulations by substantially increasing potential monetary liability for noncompliance and expands the enforcement bite of export-control regulators.