On June 3, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order (“EO”) directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) to reform many of its enforcement provisions. Titled “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” the EO targets preventing the importation of unlawful and dangerous goods, tightening eligibility and identification requirements for importers of record (“IORs”), and ensuring compliance with Federal laws and timely collection of duties.

The EO directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take steps to enact and revise a variety of regulations and policies within certain timeframes. Below is a summary of the EO’s directions.

Eligibility and Other Requirements for Importers of Record

Within 180 days, the EO orders DHS and CBP to revise importer eligibility regulations and policies, to include:

• Requiring that an IOR maintain at all times a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both, and increasing the minimum required bond coverage for an IOR;

• Requiring that an IOR be designated and reported to CBP, and that a bond, sufficient tangible domestic assets, or both, be required for all formal and informal entries;

• Requiring that an IOR provide to CBP additional data and identification information, including anticipated import volumes, year organized, ownership and beneficial ownership disclosures, business affiliation disclosures, domestic asset disclosures, and any other data CBP deems necessary;

• Requiring all IORs to maintain “good standing” with CBP, with CBP defining “good standing” based on the IOR’s and its affiliates’ history of compliance with U.S. customs and trade laws and regulations and payment of required customs liabilities, among other considerations;

• Requiring IORs to update their registry, including removing inactive IORs, confirming active IORs are compliant with all applicable regulations and disclosures, and creating risk-based tiers for IORs based on compliance history, enforcement actions, and audit results, among other things; and

• Establishing enhanced vetting procedures, including recurrent vetting, for all individuals and entities seeking to conduct activities directly related to the importation of goods, including foreign IORs, affiliates of IORs, customs brokers, custodians of bonded merchandise, and freight forwarders.

Restrictions on Foreign IORs

Within 180 days, the EO orders DHS and CBP to restrict or revise foreign IOR eligibility, to include:

• Prohibiting a foreign IOR from filing informal entries; and

• For formal entries, requiring a foreign IOR to:
  • Not rely on a continuous bond to meet the entry bond requirements for, except as permitted by CBP when the foreign IOR demonstrates the revenue would be fully protected; and
  • Be validated in CBP’s Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (“CTPAT”), if determined by CBP to be eligible, or use a CTPAT validated and licensed customs broker to file entries with CBP.

Foreign IORs are defined in the EO as, “[I]n the case of an individual, is not a United States citizen or lawful permanent resident, and in the case of an entity, is not organized under the laws of the United States, not located in the United States, does not have at all times controlling beneficial owner(s) who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents, or does not own a significant amount of real property in the United States.”

Import Disclosure and Certification Requirements

The EO directs DHS and CBP to take steps to strengthen import disclosure and certification requirements, including certifying compliance with critical supply chain requirements like the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (“CAATSA”), disclosing certain foreign tax and global business identifiers, and providing detailed information about the imported good’s supply chain and production methods, such as the manufacturer’s product identifier (e.g., model or style number) or key specifications (e.g., composition, grade, or size). 

Within 90 days, DHS must also establish requirements relating to foreign exporters’ submission of documents or information required by the foreign customs administration prior to export to the United States.

Enforcement and Penalties

The EO also directs DHS and CBP to take all actions necessary to strengthen Customs enforcement, including:

• Enforcing liquidated damages claims against bonds for noncompliance;

• Restricting in-bond utilization;

• Increasing audits; and

• Imposing maximum penalties for brokers who, for example, fail to conduct due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or fail to cooperate in a timely manner with requests for information by CBP.

Within 90 days, DHS and CBP must also take steps to revise penalty mitigation standards, including:

• Establishing a minimum penalty floor of not less than 50% of the assessed penalty;

• Establishing a minimum liquidated damages floor; and

• Eliminating mitigation for repeat offenders; and

• Expedite and enhance seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports, such as:

• Reducing or eliminating regulatory burdens to voluntary abandonment;
  • Increasing bond requirements for high-risk shipments; and
  • Authorizing third-party disposal and utilizing authorities under 19 U.S.C. 1612.

Transparency

Within 90 days, DHS and CBP take steps to require periodic review and expiration of confidentiality requests and to publish annual enforcement transparency reports.  

Legislation and Reporting

Finally, within 45 days, DHS, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and the heads of any other relevant agencies, shall submit to the President, through the Senior Counselor for Trade and Manufacturing, recommendations for legislation to strengthen customs enforcement.

Within one (1) year, DHS shall submit a report on the effectiveness of the steps taken pursuant to this EO.

The Husch Blackwell International Trade and Supply Chain team will continue to monitor and provide updates on this investigation as they become available. If you have company specific questions or concerns, please contact your Husch Blackwell attorney.