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Changes to Importer of Record Requirements
(Especially Foreign Importers)
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From: whitehouse.gov
DIRECTING COMPREHENSIVE CUSTOMS REFORM: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order that will strengthen the enforcement of U.S. customs laws through comprehensive reform.
- The Order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to strengthen several requirements for importers of record (IORs). Examples include:
- increasing bonding requirements and requiring IORs to maintain at all times a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both;
- subjecting foreign IORs to heightened requirements for formal entry;
- authorizing only U.S. IORs to file informal entry;
- imposing a “good standing” requirement on all IORs; and
- increasing vetting procedures for all individuals and entities that conduct activities directly related to the importation of goods.
- The Order directs DHS and CBP to establish various disclosure and certification requirements designed to combat duty evasion and noncompliance with supply chain rules.
- The Order directs DHS and CBP to increase enforcement of existing customs laws, including by establishing a 50% minimum penalty floor limiting CBP’s discretion to reduce the assessed penalties on importers who violate our customs laws.
- The Order directs DHS to enhance the seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports, including by reducing regulatory burdens to voluntary abandonment and authorizing third-party disposal.
- The Order directs DHS to enhance transparency in customs, including by publishing annual transparency reports.
- The Order directs DHS to propose legislation to strengthen customs enforcement.
PROMOTING ECONOMIC STRENGTH AND NATIONAL SECURITY BY COMBATTING CUSTOMS FRAUD: President Trump recognizes the critical role of customs enforcement to our national security and that action is needed to address longstanding issues with the existing regulatory environment.
- Customs enforcement is essential to the national security and economy of the United States. For example, it prevents the importation of unlawful and dangerous goods, and it ensures that IORs are accountable for duties owed and comply with numerous federal laws, including laws governing forced labor and product safety.
- Customs reform is long overdue. Systemic inefficiencies, loopholes, insufficient enforcement mechanisms, and outdated processes have created opportunities for malign actors to evade federal law.
- The Order addresses these longstanding concerns through comprehensive reform focused on protecting national security, promoting lawful trade, ensuring the timely collection of duties, modernizing systems and processes, bolstering compliance mechanisms, and protecting Americans and the domestic economy.
- The Order also brings U.S. customs policy and practice in line with many of our trading partners. For example, the current practice of most foreign countries is to either prohibit foreign entities or persons from serving as the IOR or generally require that foreign importers partner with verified domestic parties. This practice promotes compliance and accountability while reducing barriers to enforcement.
- The reforms directed in the Order will not take effect immediately. In general, DHS and CBP will engage with relevant stakeholders through the standard rulemaking process, meaning affected parties will have a meaningful opportunity to adjust operations, if needed.
BUILDING ON A RECORD OF PUTTING AMERICA FIRST IN TRADE: President Trump is taking action to restore integrity to our customs system, crack down on duty evasion, and ensure that foreign importers play by the rules.
- On Day One, as part of his America First Trade Policy, President Trump directed his Administration to take a number of steps to ensure that duties are collected and tariffs are not evaded.
- President Trump suspended the de minimis loophole — long exploited by foreign shippers to flood American markets with cheap, duty-free goods and funnel illicit fentanyl into the country.
- A number of President Trump’s Agreements on Reciprocal Trade include commitments to cooperate on combatting duty evasion.
- The President signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which permanently repealed the statutory basis for the de minimis exemption worldwide, effective July 1, 2027.
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