Truth in Tariffs Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Truth in Tariffs Act requires any person selling a good to a U.S. consumer to display, clearly and conspicuously, the portion of the price attributable to a covered tariff. That amount must be identified as the tariff surcharge. The requirement applies to sales occurring 30 days after enactment.
The bill exempts sales made by small business concerns. It allows the Federal Trade Commission to issue regulations and treats violations as violations of an FTC unfair-or-deceptive-acts-or-practices rule. The FTC would enforce the disclosure rule using the same jurisdiction, powers, duties, penalties, privileges, and immunities available under the Federal Trade Commission Act. Covered tariffs are tariffs, including tariff rate changes, imposed by the President on an emergency or other discretionary basis that entered into force on or after January 20, 2025.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. consumers benefit from a clearer point-of-sale disclosure showing how much of a good's price reflects covered tariffs. Consumer advocates benefit from a specific FTC-enforceable disclosure rule. Small business concerns benefit from an exemption from the disclosure mandate. Companies that can show tariff costs clearly may benefit from improved customer transparency.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Retailers, importers, online sellers, and other non-small-business sellers must calculate covered tariff amounts, display tariff surcharges clearly and conspicuously, update pricing systems, and comply within 30 days after enactment. The Federal Trade Commission must write any needed regulations and enforce violations as unfair or deceptive acts or practices. Sellers that violate the rule face FTC penalties and compliance risk.
Key Provisions
- Requires sellers to display the covered-tariff portion of a consumer good's price as a tariff surcharge.
- Exempts sales made by small business concerns.
- Authorizes FTC regulations to implement the disclosure requirement.
- Treats violations as FTC unfair-or-deceptive-acts-or-practices rule violations with FTC penalties and enforcement powers.
- Defines covered tariffs as emergency or discretionary presidential tariffs entering into force on or after January 20, 2025.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires sellers to display the portion of a consumer good's price attributable to covered presidential tariffs as a tariff surcharge, exempts small businesses, and gives the Federal Trade Commission rulemaking and enforcement authority.
Key Policy Areas
Trade, Consumer Protection, Tariffs, Retail
Primary Purpose
Requires sellers to display the portion of a consumer good's price attributable to covered presidential tariffs as a tariff surcharge, exempts small businesses, and gives the Federal Trade Commission rulemaking and enforcement authority.
Policy Domains
Consumer disclosure of covered tariff surcharges
Identified Gains
- U.S. consumers buying tariff-affected goods
- Consumer advocates
- Small business concerns
- Federal Trade Commission enforcement staff
Identified Costs
- Retail sellers of tariff-affected goods
- Online sellers of tariff-affected goods
- Importers selling to consumers
- Federal Trade Commission rulemaking staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Raskin (for himself, Mr. Fields, Mr. McGovern, Ms. Simon, …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Online sellers of tariff-affected goods, Retail sellers of tariff-affected goods
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "ftc"
- → Federal Trade Commission
- "seller"
- → Person selling a good to a U.S. consumer
- "small_business"
- → Small business concern
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A tariff or tariff rate change imposed by the President on an emergency or other discretionary basis that entered into force on or after January 20, 2025.
A small business concern as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology