Sponsors (5)
The bill strengthens enforcement against customs fraud—giving government and private parties more tools, bans, and financial remedies to protect domestic industry—at the cost of much higher financial and litigation exposure for importers and expanded agency discretion that could disrupt supply chains and raise due-process concerns.
Importers with histories of fraud or gross negligence — and related or linked companies used to hide violations — are more likely to be identified, barred from importer-of-record programs, and have importer numbers revoked, reducing repeat customs fraud and protecting honest U.S. importers and producers.
U.S. manufacturers, producers, and wholesalers gain a private right of action (including treble damages, injunctions to stop infringing imports, and recovery of costs and attorney fees) and the United States may intervene to support enforcement, making it easier and less costly for domestic industry to deter and remedy customs fraud.
Higher civil penalties and increased multipliers for gross negligence strengthen financial deterrents against misclassification, undervaluation, and other customs violations, increasing the cost of noncompliance.
Higher penalties combined with treble-damage exposure significantly increase potential financial liability for importers and related businesses, which could raise compliance costs, discourage trade, threaten smaller firms, and ultimately raise prices for consumers.
Expanded presumptions of knowledge and broad CBP authority to deem companies affiliated increase risk that legitimate businesses are wrongly held liable or excluded from importer programs, reducing due process and creating long, costly disputes.
Broad private standing (including associations and unions) and no amount-in-controversy threshold could spur many more lawsuits, increasing court docket congestion and litigation costs for government and private parties.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Increases penalties for customs fraud, adds purchaser-knowledge presumptions, bans violators/affiliates from importing, and creates a private right to sue for injured domestic parties.
Official title: Amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase civil penalties for, and improve enforcement with respect to, customs fraud, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 9, 2026 by Katie Boyd Britt · Last progress February 9, 2026
Strengthens U.S. customs enforcement by increasing civil penalties for fraudulent and grossly negligent import declarations, creating presumptions that broaden liability for purchasers tied to known violators, and barring violators and their affiliates from importing for set periods. It also creates a new private right for affected domestic parties (manufacturers, unions, trade associations) to sue fraudsters and allows CBP to exclude bad actors from the importer-of-record program and to treat likely shell or related companies as affiliated to prevent evasion.