Congress expands boycott restrictions to international organizations

What it does

This bill amends the Anti-Boycott Act of 2018 to extend its protections to cover boycotts imposed or fostered by international governmental organizations (IGOs), not just foreign countries. It requires the President to submit an annual public report listing which IGOs and countries impose boycotts and describing them. The bill expands the scope of existing anti-boycott enforcement to a new category of actors.

Why we flagged it

The bill functionally extends existing anti-boycott law to a new category of actors (IGOs). It is not a new prohibition but an expansion of an existing one, with added transparency requirements.

What the text implies

• The bill does not define 'international governmental organization' — it relies on the definition in the cited Anti-Boycott Act of 2018. If that definition is broad (e.g., including UN bodies, regional organizations, or multilateral development banks), the scope of covered boycotts could be very wide.
• Annual reporting requirement creates a public record of which IGOs are deemed to 'foster or impose boycotts,' potentially stigmatizing certain organizations and influencing U.S. diplomatic relations.
• The bill extends anti-boycott restrictions without clarifying whether they apply to boycotts of goods/services, divestment campaigns, or political speech — the operative scope depends entirely on how the 2018 Act is interpreted.
• Expansion may chill First Amendment-protected speech and association, particularly for advocacy groups supporting boycotts of human-rights violators or occupation regimes if those entities are deemed IGO-affiliated.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates transparency (annual public reporting on IGO boycotts) and may protect U.S. businesses from certain boycott pressures, but it also expands legal restrictions on U.S. persons' freedom to participate in or support boycotts, including those targeting human-rights violators or occupation regimes. The net civic effect depends on which boycotts are targeted and how enforcement is applied.

Who stands to gain

• U.S. exporters and businesses subject to IGO-imposed boycotts
• entities operating in countries or regions targeted by IGO boycott campaigns

Named in the bill

Anti-Boycott Act of 2018, International Governmental Organizations (IGOs), U.S. President, Congress, Foreign countries

Where it stands

24 cosponsors: 19 Republicans, 5 Democrats.

• Jan 31, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 31, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

4 lobbying clients named this bill on 6 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $2,164,605 in lobbying spend. A filing names 20 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 72% of bills with at least one filing.

Michael Lawler, the sponsor, reported $2,081,571 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• American Israel Public Affairs Committee — $1,784,900 on 2 filings
• Christians United for Israel Action Fund — $269,705 on 2 filings
• Republican Jewish Coalition — $100,000 on 1 filing
• A New Policy Inc. — $10,000 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.