Restoring Trade Fairness Act

Senate Bill

S. 206

119th Congress

Restoring Trade Fairness Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jan 23, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Tom Cotton

Senator

Republican

AR

Cosponsors

3

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Foreign Trade and International Finance

Summary

This bill revokes China permanent normal trade relations status and raises tariffs significantly. It sets a 35 percent minimum duty on all Chinese goods and 100 percent on certain strategic products. It also ends de minimis treatment for imports from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

SponsorTom Cotton (R-AR)

Introduced1/23/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.

ChamberSenate

Data from Congress.gov

See this page through your district lens

Enter ZIP to personalize representatives and vote context.

Stay on top of this issue

Subscribe for weekly bill and representative updates.

Vote Prediction

Restoring Trade Fairness Act

This bill revokes China permanent normal trade relations status and raises tariffs significantly. It sets a 35 percent minimum duty on all Chinese goods and 100 percent on certain strategic products. It also ends de minimis treatment for imports from China, Ru

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill revokes China permanent normal trade relations status and raises tariffs significantly. It sets a 35 percent minimum duty on all Chinese goods and 100 percent on certain strategic products. It also ends de minimis treatment for imports from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

Bill Number: 206
Sponsor: Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Introduced: 1/23/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Policy Area: Foreign Trade and International Finance

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Restoring Trade Fairness Act
Bill Number: 206
Sponsor: Tom Cotton (R-AR)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Introduced: 1/23/2025
Summary: This bill revokes China permanent normal trade relations status and raises tariffs significantly. It sets a 35 percent minimum duty on all Chinese goods and 100 percent on certain strategic products. It also ends de minimis treatment for imports from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill revokes China permanent normal trade relations status and raises tariffs significantly. It sets a 35 percent minimum duty on all Chinese goods and 100 percent on certain strategic products. It also ends de minimis treatment for imports from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.

Last updated: 1/5/2026

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Restoring Trade Fairness ActThis bill establishes various trade measures related to China, including by revoking China's permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status and increasing the rates of duty (i.e., tariffs) on Chinese imported goods. The bill prohibits imported goods originating from North Korea, China, Russia, or Iran from receiving de minimis treatment. (Current law allows for U.S. imports under a de minimis threshold of $800 per shipment to enter free of tariffs, fees, and taxes.)Specifically, the bill revokes China's PNTR status. Currently, China's PNTR status allows for Chinese goods to have duty rates set forth in column 1 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTS). With the removal of China's PNTR status, the bill generally sets the applicable duty rates on imported Chinese goods at the higher rates listed in column 2 of the HTS, with exceptions.The bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 35% for all Chinese goods, which requires column 2 rates to be at least 35%. However, the bill establishes a minimum duty rate of 100% for a list of specified goods (e.g., various minerals, certain vaccines and drugs, and certain defense-related articles). Duty rates are phased in over five years and adjusted annually for inflation.The bill also<ul><li>authorizes the President to take additional actions related to trade with China, </li><li>requires merchandise imported from China to be appraised based on U.S. value, and </li><li>establishes a trust fund to compensate U.S. producers for lost revenue resulting from retaliatory actions by China.</li></ul>

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Revokes China permanent normal trade relations status
Sets 35 percent minimum tariff on all Chinese goods
Imposes 100 percent tariffs on strategic products
Ends de minimis exemption for adversary nations
Phases in tariffs over five years with inflation adjustments

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

Chinese imports would become significantly more expensive across all product categories. Consumers would pay higher prices while domestic manufacturers would face less competition from Chinese goods.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Foreign Trade and International Finance

Related Subjects

Administrative law and regulatory procedures

Agricultural trade

Asia

Budget deficits and national debt

China

Congressional oversight

Customs enforcement

Department of Defense

Executive agency funding and structure

Government information and archives

+7 more

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

206, 119th Congress (2025). "Restoring Trade Fairness Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-206

Public Opinions

Community submissions related to this bill.

Share your opinion

No public opinions yet. Be the first to submit one for this bill.

Related Bills in Foreign Trade and International Finance

HR 1903

Congressional Trade Authority Act of 2025

Referred to the Committee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Rules, for a period

HR 4044

Foundation for America’s Public Lands Reauthorization Act

Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

S 1272

Trade Review Act of 2025

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. (Sponsor introductory remarks on measure: CR S2

HR 914

American CANS Act

Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.