Senate
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Summary Provided by Congressional Research Service
This bill expands the authority of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to provide information to certain persons (e.g., trademark or copyright owners) regarding suspected violations of intellectual property rights in trade.
Under current law, if CBP suspects that merchandise is being imported in violation of certain trademark and copyright laws, it may request assistance from specified persons when determining whether the merchandise is imported in violation of these laws. To permit the party to conduct examination and testing, CBP must provide them with specified information that appears on the merchandise and its packaging and labels.
This bill (1) expands the definition of person to allow CBP to request assistance from any other appropriate party with an interest in the imported merchandise, and (2) expands the scope of information that CBP is authorized to share with others to include information on and images of packing materials and shipping containers.
The bill allows CBP to request this assistance if it has a reasonable suspicion (currently, suspects) that the merchandise being imported is in violation of certain trademark and copyright laws.
Additionally, CBP may provide a person with nonpublic information about the imported merchandise that was generated by an online marketplace or similar market platform, express consignment operator, freight forwarder, or any other entity that plays a role in the sale, importation, or facilitation of the merchandise into the United States and has been provided to, shared with, or obtained by CBP.
Latest available text
1. Sharing of information with respect to suspected violations of intellectual property rights
Section 628A of the Tariff Act of 1930 (19 U.S.C. 1628a) is amended—
(1) in subsection (a)—
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking "suspects" and inserting "has a reasonable suspicion";
(B) in paragraph (1)—
(i) by inserting ", packing materials, containers," after "its packaging" the first place it appears;
(ii) by striking "and its packaging and labels" after "images of the merchandise" and inserting ", its packaging, packing materials, containers, and labels"; and
(iii) by striking "; and" and inserting a semicolon;
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period and inserting a semicolon; and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
(3) may provide to the person nonpublic information about the merchandise that was generated by an online marketplace or other similar market platform, express consignment operator, freight forwarder, or any other entity that plays a role in the sale or importation of merchandise, or the facilitation thereof, into the United States that has been provided to, shared with, or obtained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and
(4) in the case of the provision of nonpublic information described in paragraph (3), shall provide to the person notification of the information transmitted, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary may prescribe.
(2) in subsection (b)—
(A) in paragraph (3), by striking "; and" and inserting a semicolon;
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the period and inserting "; and"; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
(5) any other party with an interest in the merchandise, as determined appropriate by the Commissioner.
Passed the Senate August 7, 2026.Secretary