On March 9, 2026, Senator Bill Cassidy and Congressman Jodey Arrington introduced a bicameral bill known at the Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act (“SAFE Act”). The SAFE Act would amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to require importers of record to maintain a meaningful U.S. nexus thereby curtailing long-standing U.S. customs practices relied upon by many foreign companies to import goods into the U.S.

Currently, foreign entities without a U.S. presence may act as an importer of record provided they obtain an importer of record number from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”), post bond, and designate a U.S. agent for service of process.

The SAFE Act, if passed, would require that importers of record be:

• A U.S.-located firm with at least one full-time U.S. citizen or green-card-holding employee;

• A Foreign affiliate of U.S. firms with a three-year history, at least 1,500 employees and $1 million in annual revenue, if jointly liable for duties; or

• A Canadian or Australian company

The bill prohibits individuals from serving as the importer of record for more than one individual unless that person is a license customs broker working for FedEx or UPS.

The bill contains provisions which would allow U.S. authorities to permit additional non-resident importers from other countries after determining that the foreign jurisdiction offers similar treatment to U.S. entities wishing to serve as a non-resident importer of record.

The bill contains additional new requirements for importers of record including, increased bonds requirements and restrictions on the use of customs brokers bonds for entries. The bill also requires that duties be paid from an account where the bank has been able to conduct anti-money laundering customer identification verification process, which must be done before the first entry from a new importer of record. CBP must also be provided with a bank account and routing number.

If passed, CBP would have 360 days to issue regulations detailing how it intends to verify if an importer of record meets the necessary requirements. The bill prohibits CBP from including verification methods relying on assurances from customs brokers or sureties.

Husch Blackwell’s International Trade and Supply Chain team will continue to monitor and post updates as they become available.