Dalilah’s Law plans to restrict foreign dispatchers and brokers

The bill amends 49 U.S.C. § 13904 by adding a new subsection (h):

• The Secretary of Transportation may not register any person or entity as a freight broker if their principal place of business is:
  • Not located in a U.S. state or territory (as defined in 49 U.S.C. § 30301), or
  • In Canada or Mexico but the entity is not properly licensed by the appropriate authority in that country.

This effectively bars offshore brokers (those based outside North America) from obtaining FMCSA broker authority. It also requires Canadian and Mexican brokers to hold valid local licensing to register in the U.S. system.

The intent: Prevent unregistered or hard-to-enforce foreign entities from operating in the U.S. freight market, where they could facilitate double-brokering, load hijacking, or identity-theft schemes without easy U.S. jurisdiction.

Legitimate North American brokers (U.S.-based, or properly licensed in Canada/Mexico under USMCA frameworks) would remain unaffected.

2. Prohibition on Motor Carriers Using “Foreign Dispatch Services”

A new section 14917 is added to Chapter 149 of Title 49 U.S.C.:

• Definition of “foreign dispatch service” — Narrow and specific:
  • Principal place of business outside the United States, Mexico, or Canada.
  • Acts as a direct licensed agent for one or more motor carriers via a formal written agreement.
  • Receives compensation from the motor carrier based on a predetermined written legal contract.
  • Provides only administrative or support services limited to:
    • Coordinating freight movements without assuming responsibility for the cargo or arranging transportation.
    • Communicating with a broker or shipper to arrange shipments for the motor carrier.
• Core prohibition — Effective 1 year after enactment, motor carriers are prohibited from utilizing the services of any such foreign dispatch service.
• Certification requirement — Motor carriers must certify (on applications for operating authority registration or renewal) that they do not use foreign dispatch services.
• Penalties — Any motor carrier that knowingly violates the prohibition (subsection b) or the certification rule (subsection c)—directly or indirectly—faces a civil penalty of not less than $50,000 per violation.

This targets dispatch entities that offshore carriers sometimes use for load coordination and communication, which sponsors say create accountability gaps and enable fraud rings to operate with anonymity.

Broader Context and Industry Reaction

Supporters, including the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) and other trucking/supply-chain groups, praise these provisions as closing loopholes that allow “shady” foreign operations to fuel fraud surges. Committee releases repeatedly describe them as banning entities “who have fueled a surge in freight fraud and cargo theft.”

The rules are narrower than a blanket ban on all foreign involvement—they exclude properly licensed Canadian/Mexican entities and focus on offshore, administrative-only dispatchers tied to carriers via contracts.

Critics may argue the definitions could inadvertently affect legitimate global coordination in cross-border trade, though the bill’s language emphasizes limited-scope services without cargo responsibility.

Dalilah’s Law remains in early stages: It passed committee markup but needs full House passage, Senate action, and presidential signature to become law. If enacted, the broker registration ban would take effect upon enactment, while the dispatch prohibition has a 1-year delayed effective date.

For carriers and brokers monitoring fraud trends, these provisions represent one piece of a larger push—including FMCSA registration modernizations and enforcement tools—to restore trust in the intermediary ecosystem.