Sponsors (2)
Official title: Increase the criminal penalty for mail fraud involving misrepresentation of the country of origin, to terminate the authority to exclude countries from the requirement to transmit advance electronic information for 100 percent of mail shipments under the STOP Act of 2018, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Amy Klobuchar · Last progress September 4, 2025
The bill substantially strengthens authorities, data flows, technology use, training, and oversight to detect and interdict fentanyl and other illicit items shipped in the mail, but does so at the cost of expanded data collection and surveillance, higher compliance and taxpayer costs, potential delivery delays, and sharper criminal penalties that may affect legitimate senders and small businesses.
Border communities, mail recipients, and public health are likely to see reduced exposure to illicit synthetic opioids and counterfeit goods as expanded data, screening, detection technology, and interdiction tools make it easier to detect and stop dangerous shipments.
Law enforcement, customs, and postal inspectors gain clearer criminal authorities, seizure/forfeiture powers, tracing technologies, specialized training, and international information-sharing to better identify, disrupt, and prosecute cross-border fentanyl and synthetic opioid supply chains.
Importers, postal operators, and recipients benefit from more consistent and comprehensive customs screening because a phase-in to 100% advance electronic mail data aims to enable uniform risk targeting and more reliable processing across jurisdictions.
Mail senders and recipients face expanded government collection, sharing, and reporting of advance parcel data and origin-tracing information, raising substantial privacy and civil‑liberties risks without new, clear safeguards or redress mechanisms.
Individuals and small businesses that make inadvertent or mistaken country-of-origin declarations risk criminal exposure, seizures, fines, and imprisonment, creating harsh consequences for errors that may be unintentional.
Postal operators, private carriers, foreign shippers, tech vendors, and small businesses may face significant new compliance, testing, and technology costs — and taxpayers may fund DHS/CBP system upgrades and training — which could raise shipping prices and overall costs.
Based on analysis of 9 sections of legislative text.
Creates a new crime and seizure authority for misrepresenting mail origin, phases out country-exclusion for 100% AEI after five years, requires annual AEI compliance reports, and authorizes tech partnerships.
Strengthens U.S. efforts to stop fentanyl and other illicit drugs in international mail by creating a new federal crime for knowingly mislabeling a parcel’s country of origin, extending Customs seizure authority, phasing out certain country exemptions to 100% advance electronic information (AEI) transmission after five years, and requiring annual compliance reports. It also authorizes information-sharing with allies, public–private technology partnerships, CBP officer training, and a GAO review of the prior STOP Act implementation to identify gaps and risk points.