S-691 — Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 Act

YourVoice.Now Summary

Corporate BenefitsYour MoneyCivil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessTransparency & Accountability

Speeds up tariffs on imports that get state help or sell below cost — plus new forms and fines for importers.

Corporate Benefits

U.S. producers' repeat tariff cases — rulings on a shorter clock

When an industry has just won a tariff case, a follow-up case would run on a set clock. Commerce would rule first within 85 days in subsidy cases and 140 days in below-cost pricing cases, and only the U.S. side could ask for more time.

U.S. producers' tariff protection — extends to subsidies from a third country

Right now, a subsidy usually counts only when the seller's own country paid it. Commerce could also count cash from a third country, like China paying for a plant in Vietnam.

Grounds for U.S. tariff cases — a country's cheap currency now counts

If a petition claims a country keeps its currency cheap, Commerce would have to look at that as a subsidy. It would compare the real exchange rate with one it judges fair.

Tariff protection when foreign costs look distorted — 12 situations listed

Commerce could toss out a foreign firm's cost records and use other numbers, often raising the duty. The list covers state-run suppliers, export taxes, and weak labor or pollution laws.

Carve-out for approved 'trusted trader' importers — asset rule wouldn't apply

Firms in the top two tiers of the Customs trusted-trader program would not have to hold the assets. Customs could also excuse an importer if it can still collect the duties.

Foreign importers with no U.S. assets — need enough to cover duties

A foreign company that imports into the U.S. would have to hold U.S. accounts or property worth every duty its goods could owe, plus a bond. Customs would size it using the highest duty rate those goods face from any country, and the rule starts 180 days after enactment.

Your Money

Import paperwork the government may require — signed forms saying no duties owed

Commerce could order an importer to file a signed form at entry stating the goods and their parts owe no tariffs. If you import for a small business, that is a new form and new records to keep.

Civil Liberties

Protection from rule changes mid-case — new cost rules reach back to 2015

The new cost rules would apply to trade cases begun on or after June 29, 2015. They would also apply to civil and criminal court cases with no final judgment yet.

Criminal Justice & Due Process

Punishment for false import forms — fines or federal criminal charges

An importer who skips a required form, or files one with a false statement, could face customs fraud penalties. Lying on it can also be charged as a federal crime.

Fines for breaking the new asset rule — $50,000 each violation

Importing goods worth $50,000 or more without the required U.S. assets would cost $50,000 for each violation. Smaller shipments would cost half their value, and the goods could also be seized.

Transparency & Accountability

Public explanations for duty-dodging rulings — printed in the Federal Register

Commerce sometimes rules that goods are routed around a tariff order. It would have to print the facts and reasons for opening a case and for each ruling that follows.

Access to evidence in cheating cases — lawyers may see confidential records

Lawyers in these cases could see a company's private business records, under rules that bar sharing them. The change starts 180 days after the law takes effect.

Ways to challenge customs cheating findings — protests to Customs no longer allowed

Customs can rule that an importer dodged tariffs. The importer could no longer protest the duty bill, though a Customs review and a court challenge would stay open.

More about this bill

If you run a business that imports goods, this would mean new forms, faster tariff cases, and bigger fines. U.S. companies could win tariffs on imports more easily and more quickly. Those tariffs are paid by the importer when the goods enter the country. Costs like that can reach the prices you pay. Nothing here changes your taxes, benefits, or paycheck directly. Three changes widen when these tariffs can apply. The Commerce Department could count subsidies from a third country, such as Chinese money behind a factory in Vietnam. It could treat a country's cheap currency as a subsidy. It could also throw out a foreign company's own cost records when it finds one of 12 listed market problems. Those include state-owned suppliers, export taxes, and weak labor or pollution laws. The cost rules would reach back to cases begun on or after June 29, 2015. Court cases that are still open would be covered too. The changes would apply to goods from Canada and Mexico. Enforcement would tighten for importers. Commerce could hold up duty bills while it checks whether goods dodge an existing order. It could make importers post cash in the meantime. It could also require importers to sign forms saying the goods owe nothing. A false form could bring fines or federal criminal charges. Foreign importers would have to keep U.S. assets worth every duty they might owe. That rule starts 180 days after the law takes effect. Firms in the Customs "trusted trader" program at Tier 2 or Tier 3 would skip it. Importers would also lose the right to protest some customs cheating rulings, though court review would stay. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana, a Republican, introduced the bill with 14 co-sponsors from both parties. An identical bill, H.R. 1548, is pending in the House.

Congressional Summary

Leveling the Playing Field 2.0 ActThis bill addresses unfair trade practices by making various changes to U.S. antidumping and countervailing duty laws. Antidumping laws provide relief to U.S industries and workers that are materially injured or threatened with injury due to imports of like products sold in the U.S. market at less than fair value, while countervailing duty laws provide such relief from imports of products subsidized by a foreign government or public entity.Specifically, the bill establishes a process for successive antidumping and countervailing duty investigations. Successive investigations may be concurrent (an ongoing investigation of the same product) or recently completed (not more than two years before the date of the initiation of the successive investigation). Further, the bill establishes a timeline for the Department of Commerce to issue determinations in successive investigations.Among other provisions, the bill authorizes Commerce toapply countervailing duty law to subsidies provided by a foreign government or public entity to a company operating in a different country,use another method for calculating the cost of production in specific circumstances, andrequire importers to certify that the imported merchandise is not subject to an antidumping or countervailing duty order.Additionally, the bill statutorily establishes procedures for Commerce to conduct circumvention inquiries, including by specifying the deadlines for preliminary and final determinations.The bill also provides statutory authority for Commerce to investigate currency undervaluation as a countervailable subsidy.

Legislative Subjects

Administrative remediesCanadaCivil actions and liabilityCompetitiveness, trade promotion, trade deficitsCurrencyCustoms enforcementForeign and international corporationsFraud offenses and financial crimesFree trade and trade barriersGovernment information and archivesGovernment studies and investigationsInternational monetary system and foreign exchangeMexicoNorth AmericaTariffsTrade agreements and negotiations

Details

Congress: 119th
Chamber: Senate
Status: summarized
Action: Introduced in Senate
Action Date: 2025-02-24
Date Added: 2026-05-12
Source: Congress.gov →

Like reading a bill in plain English?

We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.