PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jun 25, 2019
Combating the Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products Act
This bill directs the Department of State to take various actions to combat the illicit tobacco trade.
The State Department shall determine whether each foreign country is a major source, point of transit, or consumer of illicit tobacco products or their precursors. If a country meets this criteria and its government is actively engaging in or knowingly profiting from the illicit tobacco trade, it shall be designated as a country of concern. If a country meets this criteria but its government is not implicated in the illicit tobacco trade, it shall be designated as a focus country.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The State Department may provide focus countries with law-enforcement training and assistance to build customs and border-security capacity. The State Department may not provide development assistance or security assistance to countries of concern, with an exception for U.S. national security interests.
The President may impose visa- and property-blocking sanctions on foreign persons who are responsible for or have materially assisted in the illicit tobacco trade. The President shall annually report to Congress as to sanctions imposed under this bill.
People & committees
Sen. Wicker, Roger F. [R-MS] · R–MS
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
Source last updated: Jan 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1965 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1965 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1965 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1965 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.