(UNITED STATES) — President Donald Trump ordered a broad rewrite of U.S. customs rules on June 3, 2026, directing the Department of Homeland Security to tighten standards for importers of record, raise disclosure requirements, and expand penalties tied to unlawful imports.

The executive order, titled “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” tells the Secretary of Homeland Security to revise importer eligibility rules within 180 days, create new filing limits for foreign importers of record, and submit legislative recommendations within 45 days.

Trump cast the changes as a national security, foreign policy, and economic measure. “Customs enforcement is essential to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,” the order says.

White House language in the order ties the overhaul to unlawful imports, unpaid duties, product safety, intellectual property, origin marking, and goods linked to forced labor. It also says current systems contain “Systemic inefficiencies, loopholes, insufficient enforcement mechanisms, and outdated processes” that allow bad actors to evade federal law.

At the center of the order are new rules for importers of record, the parties legally responsible for customs entries and duties. Within 180 days, DHS must revise regulations, guidance, and policy so an importer of record maintains minimum tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both, as U.S. Customs and Border Protection decides.

CBP must also require that an importer of record be designated and reported for all formal entries under 19 U.S.C. 1484 and informal entries under regulations tied to 19 U.S.C. 1498. The order adds new data demands, including anticipated import volumes, year organized, ownership and beneficial ownership disclosures, business affiliation disclosures, and domestic asset disclosures.

Foreign importers of record face sharper limits. Trump directed the Homeland Security secretary to promptly change rules so a foreign importer of record cannot file informal entry under regulations promulgated pursuant to 19 U.S.C. 1498, a step aimed at low-value articles.

The order says foreign importers often handle higher volumes of low-value goods, know less about U.S. customs and trade law, and face lower penalty amounts when penalties track shipment value. It says overseas assets and operations also make customs enforcement harder, leaving foreign and domestic importers on unequal footing.

Formal entries by foreign importers of record would also face new conditions. A foreign importer could not rely on a continuous bond to satisfy entry requirements unless CBP permits it after finding revenue would be fully protected and compliance assured.

Foreign importers of record may also have to obtain validation in CBP’s Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, or use a CTPAT validated and licensed customs broker to file entries. Trump said those requirements are needed because foreign actors can evade payment of customs debts more easily when assets and personnel remain overseas.

DHS must also create a “good standing” standard for all importers of record within 180 days. CBP will define that standard based on compliance history, payment of customs liabilities, and other factors involving the importer and its affiliates.

The order gives a concrete example of who would fail that test. Importers of record found by CBP to have illegally imported fentanyl, nitazene, or other illicit substances or contraband, including precursor chemicals used to manufacture illicit substances, “shall, consistent with applicable law, not be in ‘good standing’ with CBP.”

Importers not in good standing would lose access to the U.S. market under the order’s framework. They would not be allowed to import into the United States or conduct activities directly related to importation, including appointing a customs broker to act on their behalf.

CBP must also update its importer registry within 180 days. The agency will remove inactive importers of record, confirm active ones comply with disclosure and regulatory rules, and create risk-based tiers tied to compliance history, enforcement actions, and audit results.

Another 180-day deadline applies to broader vetting. DHS must establish enhanced vetting, including recurrent vetting, for people and entities involved directly in import activity, including foreign importers of record, affiliates, customs brokers, custodians of bonded merchandise, and freight forwarders.

Disclosure rules would extend beyond importer identity. The order tells DHS to establish heightened import disclosure and certification requirements, including certifications tied to the Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act, 18 U.S.C 545, and other supply chain laws that CBP identifies with other agencies.

Importers would have to disclose certain foreign tax and global business identifiers and provide more production-level information on goods entering the country. The order cites a manufacturer’s product identifier, such as a model or style number, and specifications such as composition, grade, or size.

Trump directed the secretary to enforce criminal fines and civil penalties for violations of those disclosure rules. The order also instructs the secretary and the attorney general to prioritize federal enforcement involving goods produced by forced labor, as well as imports involving misclassification, undervaluation, and illegal transshipment.

A separate requirement targets exporters abroad. Within 90 days, DHS must establish a rule requiring submission of any documentation or information that a foreign exporter had to file with its own customs administration before exporting goods to the United States.

Enforcement measures run through the rest of the order. Trump told the secretary to bolster customs enforcement “to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law,” including enforcing liquidated damages claims against bonds, restricting in-bond utilization, increasing audits, and imposing maximum penalties on brokers who fail to conduct due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or fail to cooperate in time with CBP requests.

Penalty relief would also narrow. Within 90 days, DHS must revise mitigation standards to set a minimum penalty floor of not less than 50 percent of the assessed penalty, absent exceptional circumstances that materially affect national security, establish a minimum liquidated damages floor, and eliminate mitigation for repeat offenders.

Seizure and disposal rules would move faster under the order. DHS must, within 90 days, take steps to expedite and enhance seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports by reducing or eliminating regulatory burdens to voluntary abandonment, increasing bond requirements for high-risk shipments, authorizing third-party disposal, and using authority under 19 U.S.C. 1612.

Transparency requirements appear alongside the enforcement push. Within 90 days, and in consultation with other agencies, DHS must establish standards that include periodic review and expiration of confidentiality requests, where appropriate, and annual enforcement transparency reports.

The order also sets out who counts as a U.S. importer of record and who falls into the foreign category. A U.S. importer of record includes a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or an entity organized under U.S. law, located in the United States, and controlled by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, or an entity that owns a substantial amount of U.S. real property as determined by the secretary.

An entity cannot qualify as located in the United States by paper structure alone. The order says future guidance must focus on preventing shell companies, sham transactions, or artificial corporate structuring, and says an entity must have its principal place of business in the United States, a physical presence where substantial business activity occurs, and sufficient tangible assets in the country.

Trump also ordered a formal review of the plan’s results. Within 1 year, the Homeland Security secretary must send the president a report, through the United States Trade Representative, the assistant to the president for economic policy, and the senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, measuring the order’s effectiveness.

The order presents customs enforcement as a systemwide rewrite rather than a narrow border directive. It links importer accountability, foreign exporter records, broker conduct, audits, penalties, seizures, and legislation in a single framework meant to tighten oversight of importers of record and raise the cost of customs violations.