Last updated: September 14, 2026
The 2026 Customs Enforcement Order, and what it means for your Importer of Record
On June 3, 2026, an executive order directed the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to undertake a comprehensive overhaul of customs enforcement.
If your company imports into the United States, the part that matters most is this: the order tightens who may act as Importer of Record and what that party must be able to demonstrate.
What the order directs
Assets and bonding
Importers of Record must maintain at all times a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both. Bonding requirements are being increased.
Restrictions on foreign entities
Foreign entities face heightened requirements for formal entry. Only United States Importers of Record are authorized to file informal entry.
Good standing and vetting
All Importers of Record must meet a new good standing requirement. The order directs increased vetting procedures for all individuals and entities that conduct activities directly related to the importation of goods.
Disclosure and certification
DHS and CBP are directed to establish disclosure and certification requirements designed to combat duty evasion and noncompliance with supply chain rules.
Penalties
CBP must establish a 50 percent minimum penalty floor, limiting CBP’s discretion to reduce penalties assessed on importers who violate customs laws. The order also authorizes enhanced seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports.
What has NOT happened yet
This is the part most coverage gets wrong.
The reforms directed in the order are not in effect. DHS and CBP will engage stakeholders through standard rulemaking processes. Affected parties are being given time to adjust operations.
Anyone telling you these requirements are in force today is either mistaken or selling urgency. What the order does is set direction, and that direction is unambiguous.
Why the window matters anyway
Rulemaking takes months. It does not take forever, and the direction of travel is already clear from the text of the order.
Two things follow from that:
If your supplier or a foreign entity currently acts as your Importer of Record, that arrangement is squarely in the path of the heightened formal entry requirements. Worth confirming now whether it survives.
If you are a foreign company importing into the United States without a US entity, the informal entry route is being closed to you, and the asset and bonding minimums will apply to whoever acts as your IOR. Finding a qualified US Importer of Record is going to get more competitive, not less.
Companies that sort this out during the rulemaking period will be doing it calmly. Companies that wait will be doing it against a deadline, alongside everyone else.
What a qualified IOR will need to demonstrate
Reading the order’s direction, an Importer of Record will need to show:
- Tangible domestic assets, adequate bonding, or both
- Good standing under whatever standard CBP establishes
- The ability to pass increased vetting
- Compliance and documentation practices that survive a disclosure and certification regime
- Records that hold up under a penalty environment with a 50 percent floor
That last point changes the calculus on documentation quality. When CBP’s discretion to reduce a penalty is capped, the value of getting the entry right the first time goes up accordingly.
Where the Importer of Record comes from
A Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business operates as a legally structured Importer of Record under 19 U.S.C. §1484. It assumes responsibility for entry accuracy, valuation methodology, and duty payment, with entries filed through licensed United States customs brokers.
Hamburg Logistics LLC is not a customs broker and is not the Importer of Record. We identify companies affected by these changes and introduce them to the firm that provides the structure. That firm is named on our Disclosures page.
Does this affect your shipments?
Four questions. We will tell you where you stand. If you would rather give the full picture now, start an import review.
Sources
- The White House, fact sheet on strengthening customs enforcement, June 2026
- 19 U.S.C. §1484, entry of merchandise
- 19 C.F.R. Part 141, entry of merchandise
- 19 C.F.R. Part 113, customs bonds
- CBP trade newsroom and CSMS messages
This page summarizes publicly available federal actions for general information. It is not legal advice. Requirements are subject to rulemaking and change. Verify current requirements against the Federal Register and CBP guidance.
Changelog
| Date | Update |
|---|---|
| September 14, 2026 | Page published. Covers the June 3, 2026 executive order as issued. |