In an Executive Order (EO) published on June 3, 2026, the President announced that he is proposing a series of changes that will tighten U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement. This EO direct a fundamental restructuring of U.S. customs enforcement, centered on stricter importer eligibility, enhanced data transparency, and reduced enforcement discretion. Implementation will occur through Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) rulemaking over 180 days.

Within 180 days of this EO, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is directed to revise regulations to ensure that IORs maintain a “minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both.” The minimum bond requirement coverage for IORs will be increased.

IORs will also be required to provide additional data to CBP including “anticipated import volumes, year organized, ownership and beneficial ownership disclosures, business affiliation disclosures, and domestic asset disclosures, and any other data that CBP deems necessary.”

Foreign importers of record (FIOR) will no longer be treated the same as United States IORs. FIORs will no longer be allowed to file informal entries, and will only be allowed to file formal entries if they are Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) validated, use a CTPAT validated broker, or with a continuous bond if they have demonstrated to CBP that “revenue would be fully protected and that compliance with the laws, regulations, and instructions enforced by CBP would be assured.”

The EO defines a United States IOR as “an individual, is a United States citizen or a lawful permanent resident, and in the case of an entity, is organized under the laws of the United States, is located in the United States, and has at all times controlling beneficial owner(s) who are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents; or, in the case of an entity, owns a significant amount of real property in the United States, as determined by the Secretary.” A FIOR is defined as an IOR that does not meet the definition of a United States IOR.

Within 180 of the EO, CBP will require all IORs to maintain “good standing” which is to be based on the “IOR’s and its affiliates’ history of compliance with U.S. customs and trade laws and regulations and payment of required customs liabilities, among other relevant considerations.” This will include the establishment of a IOR registry to confirm active IORs are “compliant with all applicable regulations and disclosures; and creating risk-based tiers for IORs based on compliance history, enforcement actions, and audit results, among other things.” A recurrent and enhanced vetting process will be established for “all individuals and entities seeking to conduct activities directly related to the importation of goods, including foreign IORs, affiliates of IORs, customs brokers, custodians of bonded merchandise, and freight forwarders.”

DHS is directed to take action by the EO to “bolster the enforcement of customs laws, regulations, and other mandates” with actions that include “These actions shall include enforcing liquidated damages claims against bonds for noncompliance; restricting in-bond utilization; increasing audits; and imposing maximum penalties for brokers who, for example, fail to conduct due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or fail to cooperate in a timely manner with requests for information by CBP.”

In addition, DHS has 90 days to take actions to “take actions to expedite and enhance the seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports” and revise penalty mitigation standards to establish a minimum penalty floor of “not less than 50 percent of the assessed penalty, absent exceptional circumstances that materially impact national security; establishing a minimum liquidated damages floor; and eliminating mitigation for repeat offenders.”

Within 45 days of this EO, a recommendation is to be submitted to the President for legislation to increase customs enforcement.

The “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” EO can be found here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/strengthening-customs-enforcement/

The accompanying fact sheet can be found here:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/06/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-strengthens-customs-enforcement/