# Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023: Plain Language Summary

This bill is designed to crack down on companies that cheat on U.S. customs laws by making the penalties much harsher and giving American businesses new tools to fight back. Essentially, it targets importers who commit fraud or gross negligence when bringing goods into the country—things like lying about what products are, where they come from, or how much they're worth to avoid paying proper tariffs and taxes.

The bill increases financial penalties significantly. If someone is caught committing customs fraud, they now face penalties of three times the value of the goods involved, compared to lower penalties under current law. For gross negligence (careless violations that aren't intentional fraud), the penalties jump from four times the value to ten times the value. Beyond money, people convicted of these violations face a five-year ban from importing anything into the U.S. if they committed fraud, or a two-year ban for gross negligence. The bill also targets affiliated companies—if one company in a business group cheats, related companies face the same import bans.

The most significant change is that the bill allows American manufacturers, workers, and trade groups to sue importers directly in federal court if they're harmed by customs fraud. Previously, only the government could enforce these laws. Now, if a company is injured by a competitor's fraudulent imports, they can recover their actual damages plus an additional penalty equal to three times those damages, plus attorney's fees. This creates a private enforcement mechanism that gives domestic businesses a financial incentive to police the system themselves.

Finally, the bill prevents people convicted of customs violations from participating in the "importer of record program," which is essentially a trusted-trader status that speeds up customs clearance. This makes it harder for cheaters to continue importing goods quickly and easily after they've been caught.

Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023

Bost, Mike

Fighting Trade Cheats Act of 2023 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. Further, the bill 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. It also 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, partner, or employee) of the person who committed the fraudulent or grossly negligent violation. The bill also establishes a private right of action for customs fraud or grossly negligent violations. In particular, the bill allows manufacturers, producers, wholesalers, labor unions, or trade associations to bring a civil action against a violator or any person that aids or abets a violator. 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 their importer of record numbers to be revoked.