This bill strengthens safety requirements for seafood imported into the United States by requiring the FDA to certify that foreign countries maintain safety standards equivalent to U.S. seafood manufacturing and processing rules. The legislation mandates that the FDA inspect at least 20 percent of all imported seafood annually, conduct at least one annual inspection of every foreign seafood facility, and test the first 15 shipments from any new exporter. Importers whose shipments repeatedly fail safety tests face escalating penalties, including a one-year ban on imports after three failures within a year, and entire countries with patterns of non-compliance can be blocked from exporting seafood to the U.S. The bill also establishes fees on exporters to fund FDA inspection operations and allows states to participate in seafood inspections through a federal grant program. Additionally, it makes false statements about testing or inspections punishable by civil penalties up to $250,000 per violation.
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