Tariff break for foreign-zone exports to Mexico and Canada
H.R. 6792 — Foreign-Trade Zone Export Enhancement Act of 2025 · Filed by Lance Gooden (R-TX) · 9 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 17, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a new tariff classification (9801.00.95) that allows goods manufactured or altered in U.S. foreign-trade zones to enter duty-free when exported directly to Mexico or Canada under the USMCA. It amends the Foreign Trade Zones Act and the Harmonized Tariff Schedule to clarify that such merchandise qualifies for duty-free treatment, and requires U.S. Customs to issue implementing regulations within 90 days.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a duty-free tariff classification for goods exported from foreign-trade zones to USMCA partners. While framed as supporting competitiveness and job preservation, the substantive effect is a targeted tariff relief for firms using these zones, not a broad public-interest measure.
What the text implies
- Duty-free treatment for USMCA-bound exports from foreign-trade zones may incentivize offshoring of intermediate manufacturing steps to these zones, potentially reducing domestic production outside the zones.
- The tariff revenue foregone by this classification is not quantified in the bill and may be substantial if adoption is widespread among manufacturers.
- The bill does not require domestic content or labor standards for goods qualifying for duty-free treatment, potentially allowing low-wage or foreign-sourced components to benefit from the tariff relief.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
The bill reduces export friction and may support manufacturing jobs in foreign-trade zones, a stated public benefit. However, the primary mechanism is a tariff carve-out that benefits firms using foreign-trade zones (typically larger manufacturers and distributors) rather than the general public, and the duty-free treatment represents foregone federal tariff revenue with no offsetting public investment or consumer benefit identified in the text.
Who stands to gain
- manufacturers using foreign-trade zones
- distribution companies with USMCA export operations
- logistics and customs brokers serving foreign-trade zones
Named in the bill
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Foreign Trade Zones Act (June 18, 1934), Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States, USMCA (United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement), HTS heading 9801.00.95
Where it stands
9 cosponsors: 6 Republicans, 3 Democrats.
- Dec 17, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Dec 17, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Ways and Means · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $80,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Lance Gooden, the sponsor, reported $690,556 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Uni Ag Group — $80,000 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,992 characters) on Aug 31, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Tariff break for foreign-zone exports to Mexico and Canada” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr6792 Report an error
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