I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2667 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase civil penalties for, and improve 
enforcement with respect to, customs fraud, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 18, 2023 
Mr. BOST (for himself, Ms. SEWELL, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. MRVAN, and Ms. 
TENNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to increase civil penalties 
for, and improve enforcement with respect to, customs 
fraud, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fighting Trade Cheats 
Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. INCREASE IN CIVIL PENALTIES FOR FRAUDULENT 
AND GROSSLY NEGLIGENT VIOLATIONS OF 
UNITED STATES CUSTOMS LAWS. 
Section 592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 
1592) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 
paragraph (3); and 
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 
following: 
‘‘(2) PRESUMPTION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of para-
graph (1)(B), if a person purchases merchan-
dise from two or more affiliated persons after 
such persons are determined by U.S. Customs 
and Border Protection or a court of competent 
jurisdiction to have violated subsection (a) by 
means of fraud or gross negligence, there shall 
be a presumption that the purchaser had knowl-
edge of such violation with respect to purchases 
from the second or subsequent such affiliated 
person. 
‘‘(B) AFFILIATED PERSON DEFINED.—In 
subparagraph (A), the term ‘affiliated person’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 
771(33).’’; and 
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(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘A fraudulent viola-
tion’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A fraudulent viola-
tion’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (A) (as so des-
ignated), by inserting before ‘‘the domestic 
value’’ the following: ‘‘three times’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL
PENALTIES.—A per-
son— 
‘‘(i) that commits a fraudulent viola-
tion of subsection (a) shall be prohibited 
from importing merchandise into the 
United States during a period of five years 
beginning on the date of entry of a final 
judgment with respect to such violation; 
and 
‘‘(ii) that is an affiliated person of a 
person described in clause (i) shall be pro-
hibited from importing merchandise into 
the United States during the period de-
scribed in such clause. 
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‘‘(C) AFFILIATED PERSON DEFINED.—In 
subparagraph (B)(ii), the term ‘affiliated per-
son’ has the meaning given that term in section 
771(33).’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘A grossly negligent 
violation’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—A grossly negligent 
violation’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘(A) the lesser of—’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(i) the lesser of—’’; 
(iii) by striking ‘‘(i) the domestic 
value’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(I) three times the domestic 
value’’; 
(iv) by striking ‘‘(ii) four times’’ and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(II) 10 times’’; 
(v) by striking ‘‘(B) if the violation’’ 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(ii) if the violation’’; 
(vi) in clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) 
(as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘40 per-
cent of’’ and inserting ‘‘three times’’; and 
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