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Enforcement

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CBP Will Require Foreign Importers of Record to Be CTPAT-Validated or Use a CTPAT-Validated Broker Beginning January 5, 2027 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released an interim final rule on November 5, 2026 under which a foreign importer of record must be validated under the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT), or use a CTPAT-validated customs broker, to file formal and informal entries beginning January 5, 2027. The rule implements Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement. Foreign companies that import in their own name, the U.S. buyers that depend on them, and customs brokers that are not CTPAT-validated each need a plan before January 5. 

Key Takeaways 

  • Beginning January 5, 2027, CBP will require a foreign importer of record to be validated under the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT), or to use a CTPAT-validated customs broker, in order to file formal and informal entries. 
  • The rule treats any importer of record that does not meet its definition of a U.S. importer of record as a foreign importer of record. That definition turns on U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residency, U.S. organization and location, U.S. beneficial ownership and control, or direct ownership of a significant amount of unencumbered U.S. real property.

  • The rule will require all licensed customs brokers to verify whether each client qualifies as a foreign or U.S. IOR before filing an entry. This applies to every broker, not just CTPAT-validated ones.
By |2026-11-06T11:13:23-05:00November 5, 2026|CTPAT, Customs Broker, Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments
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CBP Seized My Goods: What Happens Next and What Are My Options?

Receiving notice that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has seized your merchandise can bring an import transaction to an immediate halt. More importantly, a seizure means CBP believes there is a legal basis to take possession of the merchandise and potentially pursue forfeiture. 

A CBP seizure is not the same as a routine delay or detention at the border. Once merchandise has been seized, importers face specific procedures and deadlines for challenging the seizure or requesting relief. How you respond can affect whether the goods are released, forfeited, or become the subject of additional enforcement action. 

If CBP has seized your shipment, understanding why the goods were seized, what your Notice of Seizure says, and what options are available should be your first priorities. 

Why Does CBP Seize Imported Goods? 

CBP is responsible for enforcing hundreds of laws and regulations governing merchandise entering the United States. Merchandise may be seized when CBP determines that the goods were imported, entered, or introduced contrary to law. 

Common reasons for CBP seizures include: 

  • Counterfeit goods and intellectual property rights violations; 
  • Prohibited or restricted merchandise; 
  • Undeclared or improperly declared merchandise; 
  • False statements concerning country of origin, value, classification, or other entry information; 
  • Attempts to evade customs duties; 
  • Certain violations involving antidumping […]
By |2026-10-02T13:13:08-04:00October 2, 2026|Enforcement, Import, penalty, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|0 Comments
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Wood Packaging Material Violations: What to Do When CBP Issues an EAN 

This article explains what an importer should do in the first 24 hours after CBP issues an Emergency Action Notification (EAN) for non-compliant wood packaging material (WPM), how CBP calculates and mitigates the penalties that follow, and how the new APHIS-approved shredder-hammermill treatment can save the underlying cargo. It matters because a WPM penalty is assessed at the full domestic value of the merchandise, requires no pre-penalty notice, and can be issued even when the importer fully complies with the EAN. The decisions made before the cargo leaves the port determine how much of that exposure survives. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  • An Emergency Action Notification (EAN) for non-compliant wood packaging material is not the end of the matter. It is the start of a penalty file. Call counsel the day it arrives, not the day the penalty notice arrives. 
  • CBP penalties for WPM violations are assessed at the domestic value of the merchandise under 19 U.S.C. § 1595a(b), with no pre-penalty notice required. A single violation is enough. The old five-violation threshold was eliminated in 2017. 
  • Mitigation is real but shrinks fast: 1 to 10 percent of the penalty on a first violation, 10 to 25 percent on a second, and a 25 percent floor on the third. Documented immediate remediation and cooperation are what move you toward the low end. 
  • Shredder-hammermilling is now an APHIS-approved treatment for non-compliant […]
By |2026-09-03T12:10:01-04:00September 3, 2026|Enforcement, Import, penalty, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Uncategorized|0 Comments
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CBP eRecordation Program Update: What Rights Holders and Importers Should Watch After CBP’s August 2026 Briefing 

CBP’s Intellectual Property Enforcement Branch briefed eRecordation holders on August 27, 2026 on changes to the recordation application, future expanded pre-seizure disclosure authority, pending legislation, and an enforcement posture that has to consequence delivery, especially collecting penalties for IP violations. This article updates our earlier overview of CBP’s recordation program and identifies the items that should prompt rights holders to revisit existing recordations and importers to tighten sourcing controls. If your recordation was filed more than a year ago, several of these changes affect you directly. 

KEY TAKEAWAYS 

  • CBP’s FY 2025 IPR seizures reached roughly 78 million items with an MSRP near $7.4 billion, up sharply from the FY 2024 figures. 
  • The e-Recordation portal now validates against USPTO data. Supplemental Register marks, dead registrations, and classes not on the principal registration are rejected. 
  • Renewals are $80 per class and ownership changes are $80. Up to three contact emails are now accepted; one should be a monitored general inbox. 
  • CBP is piloting a Master Price List collection (national MSRP for every covered product), which will be an upload option on new applications and renewals. 
  • The Counterfeit Notification Act, which would let CBP share shipping labels, invoices, and e-commerce platform information with rights holders and their representatives , has passed both the House and Senate but must still clear final congressional action before being […]
By |2026-08-31T09:45:55-04:00August 31, 2026|Enforcement, International Law, International Trade|2 Comments
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DHS Adds 43 Companies to the UFLPA Entity List, the Largest Expansion Yet 

On July 31, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security, acting on behalf of the Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force (FLETF), announced the addition of 43 companies to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, along with technical updates to the official names of two entities already listed.  

The New List 

The revised list published as an appendix to a Federal Register notice on August 3, 2026, bringing the total to 187 entities, a roughly 30% increase, and the single largest expansion since the UFLPA took effect in 2022. The newly designated companies operate in DHS’s high-priority enforcement sectors, including aluminum, apparel, copper, cotton, and tomatoes and downstream products. Notably, a substantial share of the additions are headquartered outside the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), in provinces such as Shandong, Jiangsu, and Henan, which highlights that Entity List exposure is not a question of geography alone. 

CBP’s UFLPA Authority 

Under the UFLPA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) applies the UFLPA’s rebuttable presumption under 19 U.S.C. § 1307 to goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part by any of the newly listed entities, and, critically, to downstream merchandise that incorporates their inputs. There is no de minimis threshold: a single component, raw material, or subassembly traceable to a listed company can support detention of an entire shipment.  

To secure release, an importer must either show that the UFLPA […]

By |2026-08-28T14:31:30-04:00August 28, 2026|Enforcement, International Business, International Law, news|0 Comments
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