Boycotting foreign countries is an American tradition older than the United States. The Boston Tea Party that preceded the American Revolution came at the tail end of a boycott campaign against British goods. But since the 1970s, the U.S. government has tried to stop Americans from participating in unauthorized foreign boycotts.
This week, the House of Representatives was set to vote on the International Governmental Organization (IGO) Anti-Boycott Act, which would arguably be the most draconian measure of this kind to date: It would impose a maximum 20-year prison sentence or $1 million fine for complying with international human rights sanctions against a U.S. ally, including by "furnishing information."
The bill's sponsors are bipartisan: Reps. Mike Lawler (R–N.Y.) and Josh Gottheimer (D–N.J.). So are its opponents. After running into unexpected Republican opposition—including from lawmakers who vehemently oppose boycotting Israel, such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R–Ga.) and Anna Paulina Luna (R–Fla.)—the vote was quietly postponed, the libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R–Ky.) revealed on X on Sunday night.
