Hagerty Introduces Legislation to Protect U.S. Businesses from European Regulators’ Power Grab

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March 12, 2025
WASHINGTON—United States Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today introduced thePrevent Regulatory Overreach from Turning Essential Companies into Targets (PROTECT USA) Act of 2025,legislationto shield U.S. companies from the European Union’s (EU) harmful extraterritorial regulations.
In May 2024, the EU adopted the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which converts a range of international conventions into binding laws enforceable on American companies. New regulations will force U.S. companies to adopt the EU’s “net zero” carbon emissions target and other standards that exceed the requirements of U.S. law. In addition to imposing severe financial penalties for violations, the rule indirectly harms small and medium-sized businesses by requiring large companies to police their suppliers for compliance with ESG standards.“American companies should be governed by U.S. laws, not unaccountable lawmakers in foreign capitals,”said Senator Hagerty.“The European Union’s ideologically motivated regulatory overreach is an affront to U.S. sovereignty. I will use every tool at my disposal to block it.”
ThePROTECT USA Actdefends U.S. companies from this harmful overreach. It prohibits certain U.S. entities from being forced to comply with any foreign sustainability due diligence regulation, prohibits the taking of any adverse action against such an entity for action or inaction related to the regulation, and establishes a private right of action for such entities to bring civil actions when aggrieved.
Background:
ThePROTECT USA Actextends Senator Hagerty’s record of opposing the CSDDD. In September 2024, Senator Hagerty and Representative Andy Barr (R-KY-06)senta bicameral letter to the Biden-Harris Administration urging it to oppose the CSDDD. The following month, Senator Hagerty and Representative French Hill (R-AR-02) co-authored anop-edin theWall Street Journalthat sounded the alarm on the EU’s regulatory encroachment. Most recently, Senator Hagertyjoineda bicameral letter urging the Secretary of the Treasury and Director of the National Economic Council to address the CSDDD.
Full text of the legislation can be foundhere.
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