HR 2715: Destruction of Hazardous Imports Act

HR 2715 in plain English: This bill expands FDA authority to order the destruction of imported food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco products, and cosmetics that are refused entry into the United States and pose a significant public health concern, removing the option to export such items instead. Currently, the FDA can only destroy refused drugs, medical devices, or tobacco products valued under $2,500 without an export option. Under the bill, owners or consignees must pay for and carry out the destruction within 90 days.

Stated purpose

This bill expands the FDA's authority to order the destruction of imported food, drugs, medical devices, tobacco products, and cosmetics that are refused entry into the United States and pose a significant public health concern, preventing those items from being exported elsewhere instead.

Key points

• Allows FDA to require destruction of any refused import—food, drugs, devices, tobacco, or cosmetics—if it poses a significant public health concern.
• Removes the current $2,500 value cap that limits which refused items the FDA can order destroyed rather than exported.
• Owners or consignees must destroy the item at their own cost within 90 days of a destruction order.
• Unauthorized movement or export of an item under a destruction order carries a fine, up to one year in prison, or both.
• Requires FDA to issue regulations ensuring due process, including notice and a hearing, before destruction is carried out.

Arguments supporters make

• Dangerous or counterfeit products that are turned away at the U.S. border should not be allowed to cycle back into global or domestic supply chains where they could still harm people.
• Putting the cost of destruction on the importer or consignee creates a financial incentive for shippers to ensure their products meet U.S. safety standards before they ever arrive.
• The bill includes due process protections — notice and a chance to be heard — so importers are not left without any recourse before their goods are destroyed.

Arguments opponents make

• The standard of 'significant public health concern' is broad and undefined, which could give the FDA too much discretion and lead to destruction of goods without a clear, consistent threshold.
• Forcing importers to pay destruction costs on top of losing their shipment could be financially devastating for small businesses or importers from developing countries, and may raise trade dispute concerns.
• The existing system — where most products can be exported back — already removes them from U.S. commerce, and it is not clear that mandatory destruction adds meaningful safety benefits beyond what current law provides.

Tradeoffs

The bill strengthens public health protection by closing a potential loophole that allows hazardous goods to be exported rather than destroyed, but it does so by shifting financial costs and legal risk entirely onto importers and removing their option to recover value from refused shipments through export.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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