“We applaud Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse for their leadership in protecting our national security, American competitiveness, and the health and safety of our citizens by countering illicit trade, organized crime, and money laundering across some of today’s risky free trade zones around the world,” said David M. Luna, Executive Director for ICAIE. “Disrupting the increasing cross-border flows of illicit goods, contraband, and dirty monies and dismantling transnational illicit networks and their enablers from financing other criminalities and threats helps all communities to safeguard greater peace and security.”

What are risky special economic zones (SEZs) and free trade zones (FTZs)? Increasingly, some SEZs and FTZs such as the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone (GTSEZ), for example, are reported as notorious safe havens for criminality that are coupled with an array of significant illicit trade, corruption, and money laundering, and financial scams (such as the recent pig butchering on-line romance scams targeted at affluent Americans, Chinese, and other nationalities).

Illicit trade inside the GTSEZ, located along the Mekong River in the Ton Pheung District of Bokeo Province in Laos – in a border confluence between Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand – is run by international criminal gangs networks that are also involved in narcotics, money laundering (through casinos and commerce), and the trafficking of endangered wildife, humans, and other illicit goods and contraband.

Similar to international law enforcement concerns in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, illicit activities are flourishing across other economic and free trade zones.

​This is why legislative focus that addresses transnational crime, corruption, and money laundering is important to protect legitimate trade and commerce, and the welfare of communities that get harmed by hundreds of billions of dollars reaped by transnational criminal syndicates, mafias, and cartels related to financial fraud, trafficked women and children, counterfeits, wildlife trafficking, and other serious crimes.

Earlier this week, U.S. Senator​s Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) ​and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)​ introduced the Containing and Limiting the Extensive Abuse Noticed in Free Trade Zones Act (CLEAN FTZ) to create a trade rating system based on U.S. and international standards to combat trade-based money laundering and other criminal activities in foreign free trade zones​, special economic zones, export processing zones, free economic zones,​ and freeports.

Currently, no formal rating system for free trade zones exists making it challenging for federal enforcement authorities to address illegal trafficking of illicit narcotics, persons, weapons, tobacco, counterfeits, commodities, wildlife, and more.

The CLEAN FTZ Act calls on the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, the Se​cretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the United States Trade Representative​ to identify and publish, on a publicly accessible internet website, a list of non-United States FTZs and SEZs that includes the identity, location, and administrators of each such zone​; and

a classi​fication of the countries in which those zones are located into tiers​ of compliance or compliance with international guidelines and standards, and on their efforts to combat transnational criminal activity in illegally trading narcotics, arms, persons, tobacco, counterfeit consumer goods, commodities, and wildlife occurring in their respective zones located within their country.

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OFFICIAL U.S. SENATOR CASSIDY PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS:

April 3, 2025

Cassidy Introduces Bill to Combat Illicit International Trade in Foreign Free Trade Zones

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced the Containing and Limiting the Extensive Abuse Noticed in Free Trade Zones Act (CLEAN FTZ) to create a trade rating system based on U.S. and international standards to combat trade-based money laundering and other criminal activities in foreign free trade zones. Currently, no formal rating system for free trade zones exists making it challenging for federal enforcement authorities to address illegal trafficking of illicit narcotics, persons, weapons, tobacco, counterfeits, commodities, wildlife, and more.

“Why are we trading with countries that don’t fight corruption?” said Dr. Cassidy. “We are combating the flow of illegal drugs, weapons, and more. Seems important.”

The CLEAN FTZ Act:

• Creates a formal rating system with four tier classifications of countries based on compliance to U.S. and international standards.
• Gives countries an overall rating based on the performance of all free trade zones under their national jurisdiction. 
• Makes the ratings publicly available and is updated annually.
• Allows the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to make recommendation to improve efforts to combat illicit trade to countries rated tier II, III, and IV.
• Creates a hotline for reporting of instances of illicit trading and money laundering activity.
• Provides financial penalty options for foreign persons involved in illicit international trade.

Cassidy was joined by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in introducing this legislation.

The CLEAN FTZ Act is supported by the International Coalition Against Illicit Economies (ICAIE), Advocacy for Transparency International U.S., and the Global Financial Integrity (GFI). 

“We applaud Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse for their leadership in protecting our national security, American competitiveness, and the health and safety of our citizens by countering illicit trade, organized crime, and money laundering across some of today’s risky free trade zones around the world,” said David M. Luna, Executive Director for ICAIE. “Disrupting the increasing cross-border flows of illicit goods, contraband, and dirty monies and dismantling transnational illicit networks and their enablers from financing other criminalities and threats helps all communities to secure greater peace and security.”

“The CLEAN FTZ Act takes a crucial step in the fight against corruption by targeting how foreign corrupt officials rely on trade-based money laundering to move and conceal the proceeds of their crimes,” said Scott Greytak, Director of Advocacy for Transparency International U.S. “By enhancing oversight of free trade zones, ensuring that they comply with globally recognized anticorruption and trade transparency frameworks, and holding bad actors accountable, this legislation would help disrupt the financial networks that enable bribery, fraud, and the abuse of public trust, and will help safeguard global markets and protect economies from the destabilizing effects of financial crime.”

“Global Financial Integrity (GFI) endorses the CLEAN FTZ Act of 2025 and commends Senators Cassidy and Whitehouse for their collaboration on this important piece of legislation. Once in force this legislation will shed light on the operations of free trade zones around the globe, many of which have long been known to facilitate all manner of illegal activity including trafficking, illicit trade, and money laundering. Further, the proposed sanctions against perpetrators of illegal activity through these zones will protect U.S. ports and American consumers from goods that may be harmful. It is also important to note that under this legislation the U.S. government can provide recommendations for improvement to countries where low-performing zones are located,” said Tom Cardamone, President and CEO for GFI.

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