This week’s recap of the latest customs and international trade news:  

Administration 

  • President Trump issued several proclamations imposing bans on imports of Canadian alcoholic beverages, dairy products, molasses, and non-alcoholic beer, and certain motorcycles, and added new products to the list subject to 50% Section 301 tariffs. The tariffs take effect Sept. 15, the ban takes effect Sept. 29. 

Customs and Border Protection (CBP)      

  • On Sept. 12, CBP will update ACE login security by adding SMS message as a two-factor authentication method. 
  • CBP officers in Baltimore seized a shipment of over 8,500 falcata plywood sheets that were imported using a stolen identity, were undervalued, and were clandestinely imported from China.   

Department of Justice (DOJ) 

  • Two Texas-based operators of an online animal-health products business were sentenced to three months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $1.5M for a smuggled veterinary drug and pesticide scheme. 

International Trade Commission (ITC) 

  • The ITC is seeking public comment on how the Commission can establish practices to identify discriminatory trade actions and make recommendations to the President. Comments are due November 9, 2026.  

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) 

  • BIS released its annual report to Congress, revealing the agency imposed approximately $324 million in civil and criminal penalties in calendar year 2025, compared to roughly $16 million in 2024, an eighteen-fold increase in a single year.  

Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC)   

  • OFAC sanctioned three Chinese entities for operating a large illicit online marketplace used to support cyber scams, fraud, money laundering, and other criminal activity targeting Americans.   
  • Under Operation Economic Outcast, OFAC sanctioned 36 targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, which the regime uses to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo. 

U.S. Department of State 

  • The Department of State designated five entities and one individual to further the Trump Administration’s comprehensive push to end the Cuban regime’s malign activities. 

U.S. Census Bureau 

  • The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis released the latest trade report, announcing that the goods and services deficit was $88.6 billion in July, up $17.4 billion from $71.2 billion in June. 

Federal Maritime Commission (FMC)  

  • A FMC administrative law judge ordered CMA CGM to pay importer PKDC more than $16.7 million, finding that the carrier committed several Shipping Act violations. 
  • A FMC administrative law judge approved a confidential agreement to settle allegations by Samsung Electronics America that ocean carrier Orient Overseas Container Line Ltd. (OOCL) failed to perform its transportation obligations and charged unfair fees.  
  • A FMC small claims officer ordered New York-based ocean transportation intermediary Transparent International to pay more than $26,000 to five individuals for abandoning their cargo and ceasing communication with them. 

Congress 

  • A bipartisan group of House of Representatives members sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin requesting a briefing on the Department’s implementation of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). 

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