What Every Multinational Should Know About … The New Customs Enforcement Realities (Part II): President Trump’s Executive Order Strengthening Customs Enforcement

The landscape of tariff enforcement is intensifying, creating significant compliance, financial, and operational challenges for importers. To help multinational companies stay informed of key developments from major government stakeholders, including the White House, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Department of Justice (DOJ), we are publishing a four-part series. Part I focused on rising bonding and collateral requirements (which are intended to combat Customs fraud, particularly by non-U.S. importers). The next two articles focus on Customs enforcement, starting with a new executive order (EO or the Order) focused on “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” which directs that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) undertake a broad overhaul of the rules governing importation into the United States.

This new executive order signals a major escalation in the administration’s customs enforcement agenda and serves as a roadmap for where this administration wants to take customs enforcement within the next two quarters. This executive order would impose significant new requirements on importers of record (IORs), sharply limit the ability of foreign entities to act as IORs, expand disclosure and vetting obligations, tighten bond and asset requirements, increase enforcement against customs brokers and importers, and strengthen seizure and disposal authorities for noncompliant goods.

Although the Order sets ambitious implementation deadlines — including 45-, 90-, and 180-day milestones — many of the most consequential changes will require future rulemaking by DHS and CBP and, in some cases, legislation. As a result, the Order is best understood as a statement of enforcement direction rather than a self-executing set of immediate regulatory changes. Even so, frequent importers should not wait for final rules before assessing their exposure. The Order reinforces that customs enforcement will remain a central feature of U.S. trade policy and that importers, brokers, and related parties should prepare for significantly greater scrutiny.

Why Is Customs Enforcement Getting Stricter?

The administration has framed the Order as both a national security measure and an economic enforcement initiative. According to CBP Office of Field Operations Executive Assistant Commissioner Diane J. Sabatino, the “Executive Order provides CBP with critical new tools and authorities to combat nefarious actors attempting to exploit our trade and cargo systems.” The view of the administration is that stronger customs enforcement is necessary to prevent unlawful and dangerous goods from entering the United States, to combat fentanyl and other contraband, to close perceived loopholes in the import process, and to ensure that importers are held accountable for duties, penalties, and compliance obligations.

The Order also fits squarely within the administration’s broader trade policy approach. It emphasizes duty collection, anti-evasion enforcement, supply chain accountability, and the use of customs tools to address concerns involving forced labor, transshipment, undervaluation, misclassification, and illicit trade. In that sense, the Order is not merely a technical customs initiative. It is part of a broader effort to use border enforcement as a mechanism to advance national security, industrial policy, and revenue protection goals.

Key Takeaways for Frequent Importers

Multinationals should focus on five immediate implications of the executive order:

• Foreign IOR structures may become significantly more difficult to maintain. The Order directs DHS to prohibit foreign IORs from filing informal entries and generally to bar them from using continuous bonds for formal entries, absent a CBP-approved exception. It also adopts a more restrictive concept of what qualifies as a U.S. IOR, emphasizing not only U.S. incorporation and presence but also controlling beneficial ownership and domestic asset presence, while directing CBP to police shell entities and artificial structures more aggressively.
• Bond, asset, and financial assurance requirements are likely to increase. The Order directs CBP to require all IORs to maintain a bond, a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, or both, and to increase minimum bond coverage levels. Companies that currently rely on minimum continuous bonds, thinly capitalized U.S. entities, or offshore import structures should expect renewed scrutiny of whether their existing arrangements provide sufficient financial accountability.
• Importers should expect broader disclosure and recurring vetting. The Order contemplates expanded reporting obligations covering anticipated import volumes, year of organization, ownership and beneficial ownership, business affiliations, domestic assets, and any other data CBP deems necessary. It also directs DHS and CBP to establish enhanced and recurring vetting for parties involved in importation, potentially extending beyond IORs to affiliates, customs brokers, freight forwarders, and bonded custodians.
• “Good standing” may become a threshold requirement for import eligibility. The Order directs CBP to require all IORs to remain in good standing in order to import or engage in activities directly related to importation, with the analysis expressly tied to the compliance and payment history of both the IOR and its affiliates. For multinational groups, this raises the possibility that a customs issue affecting one affiliate could have consequences for another entity’s ability to import.
• Enforcement risk is likely to rise materially. The Order directs DHS and DOJ to intensify customs enforcement with particular focus on forced labor, illegal transshipment, undervaluation, misclassification, and other forms of duty evasion and noncompliance, while also calling for increased audits, tighter in-bond controls, stronger enforcement of liquidated damages, and enhanced certification requirements. Even before final rules are issued, the Order signals a more punitive and disclosure-driven enforcement environment.

Further, the executive order directs that CBP should implement new regulations and approaches to implement the goals of the Order. These fall into these four general areas:

• First, new restrictions on foreign importers of record are coming. Foreign IORs are likely to face the most immediate structural pressure under the Order. Within 180 days, DHS is directed to prohibit foreign IORs from filing informal entries under 19 U.S.C. § 1498. For formal entries, foreign IORs will generally be prohibited from using continuous bonds unless CBP allows an exception based on full revenue protection and demonstrated compliance assurance. The Order also requires foreign IORs to provide to CBP information previously submitted to foreign customs authorities before goods arrive in the United States. That requirement is to be implemented on a shorter timeline and may create additional operational burdens for exporters and importers coordinating cross-border documentation. Taken together, these provisions suggest a policy preference for U.S.-based, financially accountable, and more easily vetted importing parties.
• Second, broader bond and asset requirements are coming. The Order instructs CBP to revise importer eligibility requirements so that all IORs maintain adequate financial accountability through bonds, domestic assets, or both. While CBP’s implementing rules will determine how this works in practice, importers should expect increased scrutiny of current bond amounts and possible minimum domestic asset thresholds. For multinational groups, this may affect not only customs compliance but also legal entity structuring, treasury planning, and internal capitalization decisions. Companies using thinly capitalized U.S. entities or nonresident importer models should evaluate whether those arrangements remain sustainable.
• Third, expanded data collection and ownership transparency requirements are coming. The Order directs CBP to collect substantially more information from importers, including ownership and beneficial ownership data, affiliate relationships, domestic asset disclosures, and volume projections. This reflects a broader governmental focus on transparency, traceability, and the identification of control relationships across corporate groups. Importers should anticipate that CBP will use these disclosures not only for registration and vetting purposes, but also to assess risk, identify affiliations, and evaluate whether a company’s structure is being used to obscure true control or liability.
• Fourth, “good standing” and affiliate risks are growing. One of the most consequential aspects of the Order is its proposed “good standing” requirement. This appears designed to move importer eligibility away from a purely transactional approach and toward an enterprise-risk model. Under that approach, an importer’s ability to transact with CBP may depend on whether both the entity and its affiliates have demonstrated adequate compliance and timely payment of customs liabilities. This may prove particularly important for groups with decentralized compliance functions, legacy customs issues, or entities that have historically operated independently. Companies should assess whether there are unresolved customs matters anywhere in the group that could become relevant if CBP adopts a broad affiliate-based good-standing test.

New Pressure on Customs Brokers and Other Supply Chain Intermediaries

The Order also raises the stakes for customs brokers. It directs the government to impose maximum penalties on brokers who fail to conduct due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or fail to cooperate in a timely manner with requests for information. This is likely to result in more demanding onboarding, know-your-customer inquiries, documentation requests, and compliance certifications from brokers.

Importers should expect brokers to ask for more information and to be less willing to process transactions that present unresolved compliance concerns. Companies should coordinate with their brokers now to understand what new diligence expectations may emerge.

Expect Increasing Penalties, Seizures, and Disposals of Goods

The Order signals a more punitive enforcement posture in several respects. Most notably, it calls for establishment of a 50% minimum penalty floor, which would meaningfully limit CBP’s discretion to mitigate penalties in customs enforcement cases. If implemented, this would alter the calculus for penalty defenses, prior disclosures, and settlement discussions.

The Order also directs DHS and CBP to strengthen seizure and disposal authorities for noncompliant imports, including by reducing regulatory burdens associated with voluntary abandonment and authorizing third-party disposal of seized or abandoned goods. These changes could make it easier for the government to detain, seize, and dispose of merchandise where importers cannot quickly cure compliance issues.

For companies importing goods in sectors subject to heightened scrutiny, these developments could increase both legal exposure and supply chain disruption risk.

What Is the Timeline?

The Order sets out several implementation milestones:

• Within 45 days, the Secretary of Homeland Security must submit recommendations for legislation to the President addressing how best to achieve the Order’s goals.
• Within 90 days, DHS is to take steps to require foreign exporters or foreign IORs to provide documentation or information previously submitted to foreign customs authorities. The Order also contemplates action during this period on penalty policy, seizure and disposal procedures, and enforcement transparency measures.
• Within 180 days, DHS and CBP are directed to implement the broader regulatory framework, including changes to IOR eligibility, foreign IOR restrictions, vetting procedures, bond and asset requirements, and the development of a good-standing regime.

That said, many of these measures cannot realistically take effect on the timeline stated in the Order without notice-and-comment rulemaking or, in some instances, legislation. Importers should therefore view these dates as policy targets, not guaranteed effective dates.

What Should Frequent Importers Do Now?

Although many key details remain unresolved, companies should begin preparing now. At a minimum, multinationals should consider the following steps:

• Review IOR structures, especially where foreign entities currently serve as the importer of record.
• Assess bond levels and domestic asset exposure in anticipation of increased minimum requirements.
• Map ownership, beneficial ownership, and affiliate relationships that may need to be disclosed to CBP.
• Evaluate customs compliance history across the corporate group, not just at the importing entity level.
• Identify outstanding duty, penalty, or audit issues that could affect future “good standing.”
• Engage customs brokers early to understand what new diligence and certification requirements may emerge.
• Monitor CBP and DHS rulemaking closely and be prepared to participate in notice-and-comment opportunities if proposed regulations are issued.

The June 3, 2026, Strengthening Customs Enforcement executive order is one of the most consequential customs enforcement directives in recent years. Although much remains to be defined through future rulemaking and possible legislation, the Order clearly points toward a more restrictive, disclosure-heavy, and enforcement-focused import environment. For frequent importers, the implications extend beyond technical customs compliance to corporate structuring, affiliate governance, treasury planning, and supply chain risk management.

Though the executive order is largely forward-looking, importers are already experiencing one of the central consequences of the administration’s enforcement and tariff agenda: increased financial pressure tied to customs bond sufficiency, surety underwriting, and collateral requirements. Part III of this series examines how Customs and the DOJ are otherwise increasing their enforcement activity, further increasing the risk of importing and the importance of enhanced Customs compliance.

Would you like more practical compliance tips like these? The Foley International Trade & National Security Team is monitoring all international trade, enforcement, and compliance developments, which we post as they occur on our Tariff & International Trade Resources blog. Click Here To Register for our email list to receive future emails and practical international regulatory compliance tips, including our biweekly What Every Multinational Should Know articles.

Our white paper on Managing Import and Tariff Risks During a Trade War outlines a 12-step plan to provide practical steps to help importers navigate the tariff and international trade risks in the current tariff and trade environment, while the companion white paper on Managing Supply Chain Integrity Risks provides practical advice to deal with heightened supply chain risks pertaining to goods imported into the United States, including the increasing use of detentions by Customs.