STOP Act 2.0

This legislation aims to keep illegal drugs and fake goods out of the U.S. mail by tightening rules and improving data and training. It makes it a crime to lie about where an international package really came from; people who do this can be fined and face up to 5 years in prison, and those packages can be seized by Homeland Security authorities . It also ends, five years after the bill becomes law, the ability to exempt any country from the rule that advance electronic data must be sent for 100% of international mail shipments .

The Department of Homeland Security must report every year on how well foreign posts and carriers are sending this advance data, including the quality of the data, results of random checks, and how many searches find illegal drugs or counterfeit goods. Parts of these reports may be posted online. The reports also compare mail handled by USPS with private carriers and list any countries still excluded during the five-year phaseout, with steps to get them ready for full compliance . The bill allows partnerships with private delivery and tech companies to build tools that trace where fentanyl and other drugs come from, lets DHS share information with allied countries about risky shippers and best detection practices, and requires training for U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to spot synthetic opioids and other illegal substances entering the country . Within one year, the Government Accountability Office must review how the earlier STOP Act has worked, identify weak spots traffickers use, compare USPS and private carrier compliance, and assess whether country exemptions should be used less before they end .

Key points:

• Who is affected: People who ship international packages; USPS, DHS, and CBP; private parcel and tech firms; foreign postal operators .
• What changes: Tougher penalties for lying about a package’s origin; end of country exemptions for advance data; annual public-facing progress reports; new public‑private tools; international info sharing; CBP officer training .
• When: Annual DHS reports starting one year after enactment; GAO review due within one year; country exemptions end five years after enactment .