FOREST Act of 2023
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Fostering Overseas Rule of law and Environmentally Sound Trade Act of 2023 or the FOREST Act of 2023
This bill restricts certain commodities produced on illegally deforested land from accessing the U.S. market.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the importation of any product made wholly or in part of a covered commodity produced on illegally deforested land. The bill outlines requirements for import declarations of covered commodities.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) must, within 30 days, publish (1) an initial list of covered commodities that consists of palm oil, soybeans, cocoa, cattle, and rubber; and (2) an initial list of covered products that are defined by the bill in accordance with the Harmonized Tariff Schedule. These lists must be updated at least on an annual basis.
Further, the USTR must identify foreign countries without adequate and effective protection against illegal deforestation for the production of commodities that are likely to enter the United States. The USTR must develop an action plan that includes benchmarks for each identified country.
Additionally, the bill creates an interagency working group to provide advice and recommendations to the USTR, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other relevant agencies.
The bill provides funding to assist foreign governments in combating illegal deforestation.
The bill also includes illegal deforestation as a specified unlawful activity under a federal financial crime statute.
The bill establishes a federal procurement preference for commodities that are not produced on land subject to deforestation.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 30, 2023. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on November 30, 2023: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced it on November 30, 2023, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Republican.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on November 30, 2023, 1015 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 1015 days ago, on November 30, 2023.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 118th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2025 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers