YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessCorporate BenefitsUnsafe imports the FDA turns away could be destroyed, not shipped back — and the owner pays.
Civil Liberties
The FDA would have to write rules giving the owner notice and a chance to appear and give testimony. That hearing could be joined with the hearing on refusing the shipment, or held on its own.
Today, an owner whose imported goods are turned away can usually ship them back out of the country. The bill would take that option away for goods that officials see as a serious health risk.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
Moving goods under a destruction order, or putting them into U.S. commerce or shipping them abroad, would be added to the banned-acts list in federal food and drug law. That list is what makes an action a federal offense.
Corporate Benefits
The owner or the business receiving the shipment must destroy the goods within 90 days and cover the cost. That comes on top of losing the value of the shipment.
More about this bill
Unsafe imported products that the government turns away could be destroyed instead of shipped back overseas. The change would land on businesses that import food, medicine, and similar goods, not on shoppers. Health officials could order destruction when they judge a rejected shipment a serious public health risk. The owner would have 90 days to destroy the goods and would pay the cost. Before that, the owner would get notice and a chance to argue the case in person. Moving those goods, or sending them out of the country, would become a federal offense. Nothing would take effect soon. The FDA must write the rules first, and the bill allows up to two and a half years for that.
Congressional Summary
Destruction of Hazardous Imports ActThis bill expands the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) authority to require the destruction of certain items that are refused import into the United States and pose a risk to public health.Under current law, imported food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco products, and cosmetics are subject to FDA review. If an imported item is deficient in a specified manner (e.g., counterfeit, misbranded, or manufactured under insanitary conditions), the item is generally refused admission to the United States. An item refused admission may generally be exported, except that the FDA may destroy a drug, medical device, or tobacco product that is valued under $2,500 without the opportunity for export.Under the bill, the FDA may order the destruction, without the opportunity for export, of any food, drug, medical device, tobacco product, or cosmetic that is refused admission if the item presents a significant public health concern. If such an order is issued, the item’s owner or consignee must destroy it within 90 days at their own cost.The bill also prohibits the unauthorized movement (e.g., export) of an item subject to a destruction order. A violator is subject to a fine, a prison term of up to one year, or both.The FDA must promulgate regulations to carry out these provisions. These regulations must provide for due process for the owner or consignee of an item subject to a destruction order, including notice and an opportunity to appear before the item is destroyed.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-06-18
- Date Added
- 2026-07-09
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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