Bill shields U.S. companies from foreign environmental accountability rules
H.R. 9385 — PROTECT USA Act of 2026 · Filed by Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) · Introduced Jun 22, 2026 · Markup held
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What it does
This bill prohibits U.S.-based companies in extractive and manufacturing sectors from complying with foreign environmental and social due diligence rules—particularly the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive—even when operating abroad. It bars foreign courts from enforcing such rules against these companies in U.S. courts, grants the President broad power to exempt companies on hardship petition, and authorizes the President to take unspecified protective action against foreign enforcement. The bill benefits extractive and manufacturing companies by shielding them from foreign environmental and labor accountability; ordinary citizens lose visibility into supply-chain harms and face potential trade retaliation.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a blanket prohibition on compliance with foreign environmental and social due diligence rules, coupled with broad presidential exemption authority and immunity from foreign court judgments. This is functionally a liability shield and accountability exemption for extractive and manufacturing companies, framed as a trade-sovereignty measure.
What the text implies
- The bill's definition of 'entity integral to national interests' is extremely broad—any U.S.-organized business with substantial U.S. operations qualifies, plus any entity the President designates. This creates a de facto carve-out for most large U.S. corporations in extractive/manufacturing sectors.
- The 'ordinary course of business' exception in subsection (b) may permit companies to comply with foreign rules if framed as responding to consumer/investor requests, creating a loophole that undermines the prohibition's stated purpose.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
extractive sector companies (mining, oil, gas, timber, agriculture); large manufacturing corporations with global supply chains; companies currently subject to EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive