II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4955 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement against trade-related 

crimes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 1, 2024 

Mr. GRAHAM (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. CASSIDY, and Mr. BROWN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement 

against trade-related crimes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting American 

5 Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act 

6 of 2024’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITION. 

8 In this Act, the term ‘‘trade-related crimes’’ means 

9 violations of law that are implicated by criminal activities 

10 in furtherance of the evasion of duties, tariffs, and other 


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1 import- and export-related fees, import and export restric2 tions, or requirements imposed by the Tariff Act of 1930, 

3 the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, or the Trade Act of 

4 1974, each as amended, the Countering America’s Adver5 saries Through Sanctions Act, as well as all other laws 

6 and regulations involving criminal activities relating to 

7 United States imports and exports, money laundering, and 

8 smuggling. 

9 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW STRUCTURE TO PROS10 ECUTE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CRIMES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—A task force, named program, or 

12 other similar structure to investigate and prosecute trade13 related crimes, with particular emphasis on violations of 

14 the statutes enumerated in section 4(a)(2), will be estab15 lished within the Criminal Division of the Department of 

16 Justice within 120 days, after availability of appropria17 tions, and coordinated by a supervisory criminal trial at18 torney selected by the Assistant Attorney General of the 

19 Criminal Division or other official designated by the Attor20 ney General. 

21 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To support this effort, the 

22 Department of Justice shall— 

23 (1) create within the Criminal Division new po24 sitions for criminal trial attorneys and associated 

25 support personnel responsible for leading and coordiVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:20 Aug 31, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4955.IS S4955

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1 nating trade-related crime investigations and cases, 

2 including those that may significantly impact more 

3 than one district; 

4 (2) ensure that experienced and technically 

5 qualified criminal prosecutors support this effort; 

6 and 

7 (3) promote and ensure effective interaction 

8 with law enforcement, industry representatives, and 

9 the public in matters relating to trade-related 

10 crimes. 

11 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF NEW TRADE CRIMES 

12 STRUCTURE. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Through the efforts of the task 

14 force, named program, or other structure identified in sec15 tion 3(a), the Department of Justice shall accomplish each 

16 of the following: 

17 (1) Increase the capabilities and capacity of its 

18 Criminal Division to prosecute trade-related crimes. 

19 (2) Increase the number of trade-related crimes 

20 being investigated and prosecuted pursuant but not 

21 limited to health, safety, financial, and economic 

22 trade-related crimes under titles 13, 15, 18, and 21, 

23 United States Code, including but not limited to— 

24 (A) 13 U.S.C. 305; 

25 (B) 15 U.S.C. 2614–15; 


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1 (C) 18 U.S.C. 371; 

2 (D) 18 U.S.C. 541; 

3 (E) 18 U.S.C. 542; 

4 (F) 18 U.S.C. 543; 

5 (G) 18 U.S.C. 545; 

6 (H) 18 U.S.C. 546; 

7 (I) 18 U.S.C. 554; 

8 (J) 18 U.S.C. 1001; 

9 (K) 18 U.S.C. 1341; 

10 (L) 18 U.S.C. 1343; 

11 (M) 18 U.S.C. 1349; 

12 (N) 18 U.S.C. 1956; 

13 (O) 18 U.S.C. 1957; 

14 (P) 18 U.S.C. 2320; and 

15 (Q) 21 U.S.C. 331. 

16 For the purposes of this Act, this list does not in17 clude violations of national security-related laws and 

18 regulations, including the Arms Export Control Act 

19 (22 U.S.C. 2771 et seq.), International Emergency 

20 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), Ex21 port Control and Reform Act (50 U.S.C. 4801 et 

22 seq.), and the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 

23 U.S.C. 4305(b)). 

24 (3) Participate in basic and advanced training 

25 events with Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. 


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1 Customs and Border Protection, and other Federal 

2 agencies and provide technical assistance, where ap3 propriate, to Homeland Security Investigations and 

4 U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other Fed5 eral agencies with respect to the investigation and 

6 prosecution of trade-related crimes. 

7 (4) Develop multijurisdictional responses and 

8 partnerships with respect to trade-related crimes 

9 through informational, administrative, and techno10 logical support to other Federal agencies and agen11 cies of countries that are trading partners of the 

12 United States, as a means for such agencies to ac13 quire the necessary knowledge, personnel, and spe14 cialized equipment to investigate and prosecute 

15 trade-related crimes. 

16 (5) Participate in nationally coordinated inves17 tigations in any case in which the Attorney General 

18 determines such participation to be necessary, as 

19 permitted by the available resources of the Depart20 ment of Justice. 

21 (6) Ensure that all components that enforce 

22 against trade-related crimes regularly consult with 

23 each other. 

24 (b) ABSENCE OF EXCLUSION OF PURSUING OTHER

25 REMEDIES.—Litigation by the Criminal Division shall not 


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1 preclude additional criminal prosecution or civil action 

2 against trade-related violations. Nothing in this statute 

3 shall prevent the Criminal Division, Civil Division, and 

4 other Department of Justice components from pursuing 

5 enforcement action where appropriate. 

6 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

7 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Com9 mittee on the Judiciary, Committee on Ways and Means, 

10 and Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep11 resentatives, and the Committee on the Judiciary and 

12 Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the work 

13 of the Department of Justice with respect to investigation 

14 and enforcement of trade-related crimes. Specifically, the 

15 report shall— 

16 (1) be submitted not later than one year after 

17 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

18 thereafter, not later than February 1 of each year 

19 that begins after the submission of the first report; 

20 (2) include annual statistics on the volume of 

21 publicly charged trade-related crimes and indict22 ments, as defined in section 2; 

23 (3) include a summary as to how the funds ap24 propriated for trade-related crimes were utilized in 


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1 the prior reporting period, including staff and oper2 ating expenses; and 

3 (4) provide an estimate of any additional fund4 ing needed to combat trade-related crimes. 

5 SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro7 priated to the Attorney General $20,000,000 for fiscal 

8 year 2025 to carry out this Act. Of sums appropriated, 

9 at least 80 percent shall be used by the Criminal Division 

10 to support criminal prosecution of trade crimes as defined 

11 in this Act, including salaries and expenses necessary to 

12 hire and train investigatory and prosecutorial personnel, 

13 develop multijurisdictional and multiagency partnerships, 

14 and conduct enforcement actions. 

15 (b) OTHER CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AND CIVIL EN16 FORCEMENT.—Remaining sums may be used by the De17 partment of Justice to support criminal prosecution of 

18 trade crimes by other components and civil enforcement. 

19 (c) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts appro20 priated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations 

21 under subsection (a) shall remain available until expended. 

Æ 


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