CBP published the Rail Electronic Export Manifest Final Rule on August 26, 2026, requiring advance submission of electronic rail export manifests in the Automated Commercial Environment's Electronic Export Manifest system. The rule makes EEM mandatory for electronic rail manifest processing, moving beyond the current EEM Pilot. The notice does not state an effective date or compliance deadline.
CBP officers at Indianapolis' express consignment facility seized a shipment from Hong Kong containing 875 pieces of jewelry and five designer handbags bearing suspected Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Versace, Gucci, Tiffany & Company, Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks, deemed inauthentic by CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise. The shipment, headed to a residence in Georgia, was seized on August 18 for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks; CBP states the items would have had a combined manufacturer's suggested retail price of over $3.7 million had they been genuine.
CBP states that on July 31 its officers at the Port of Louisville, Kentucky intercepted a shipment from Hong Kong containing 300 Audemars Piguet watches, which CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise deemed inauthentic; the watches were seized for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks. CBP says the shipment was headed for a residence in Houston and would have had a combined manufacturer's suggested retail price of over $43 million had the watches been genuine.
CBP states that officers from the George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) Trade Enforcement Team seized nearly $4 million in counterfeit goods, including fake MLB and Nike apparel, Louis Vuitton bags, Cartier sunglasses and Jaguar Land Rover computer systems, with a Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price of $3.7 million. Most shipments originated from China and were destined for locations both within and outside the United States. CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise deemed the items inauthentic, and they were seized for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks.
CBP's Office of Field Operations unveiled the "OFO Strategy 2026-2030," a roadmap setting four goals for its ports-of-entry operations: national security, economic security, integration and workforce cultivation. The strategy covers intelligence-based targeting, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies, modernization of port infrastructure and technology, and industry awareness. CBP states that in Fiscal Year 2025 OFO processed approximately 380 million travelers and $3.6 trillion in import cargo.
CBP announced that it has uncovered more than $1 billion in additional duties owed under the Enforce and Protect Act, a first in the program's 10-year history and 300% above the program's annual average. CBP issued 14 notices of determination in 2026 covering products including solar cells, tow-behind lawn groomers, lumber, pipes, xanthan gum, metal lockers and wooden furniture imported from countries across the globe, and investigators traveled to Mexico, Thailand, India, New Zealand and the United Kingdom to inspect production facilities. The agency says EAPA investigations are required by statute to conclude within one year.
CBP announced 14 consecutive months of zero releases at the border, with nationwide encounters in June at 31,626, 4% lower than May, and southwest border apprehensions 94% below the monthly average of the Biden administration. In trade enforcement, CBP processed $330 billion in imports in June 2026 and identified $22.9 billion in duties for collection. CBP also stopped 372 shipments valued at more than $38 million for potential forced labor violations and seized nearly 2 million counterfeit goods valued at over $1.4 billion.
CBP officers at the port of Cincinnati stopped a shipment on June 3 containing 111 pieces of counterfeit items, including 44 Rolex watch models, 4 Richard Mille watches, 10 Cartier watches, 20 hats from Prada, ALO, Gucci and Coach, and 62 pairs of designer branded sunglasses and glasses. The shipment from Colombia was headed for a residence in Puerto Rico; CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise deemed the items inauthentic and seized them for bearing counterfeit versions of registered and recorded trademarks. Had the items been genuine, CBP states the shipment would have had a combined Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of over $19.26 million.
President Donald Trump signed the executive order "Strengthening Customs Enforcement" on June 3, 2026, directing CBP to require importers, domestic and foreign, to provide more detailed information about their ownership, business operations and supply chain and to maintain good standing with CBP to keep importing. Customs brokers will be held to higher standards and must conduct greater due diligence on their importers, foreign importers face heightened import restrictions, and bond rules are being updated to set new minimums and leverage against risk. The order does not state effective dates or the specific information importers must submit.
Why it matters: Importers and customs brokers covered by the order face new ownership, operations and supply chain reporting duties, higher broker due diligence standards and updated bond minimums, with importing privileges at risk for non-compliance.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection states it has established a CBP World Cup Task Force to coordinate security operations across all FIFA World Cup 2026 host cities, and that its Office of Field Operations has increased officer numbers, expanded hours and added screening technology at key ports. CBP says officers and import specialists will inspect goods entering for the tournament, working with the USDA, CDC and FDA on agricultural and biological materials, and that it has expanded intellectual property rights enforcement training on counterfeit FIFA merchandise.
CBP officers in Louisville seized 1,622 pieces of counterfeit designer jewelry on May 1 from a single express consignment shipment that arrived from Hong Kong and was headed to Chicago. The shipment contained 1,227 bracelets and 395 necklaces bearing marks identical to Cartier, Tiffany and Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks, and would have had a combined Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of over $14.1 million had the goods been genuine. CBP's Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center of Excellence and Expertise confirmed with the trademark holders that the pieces were not authentic, and the goods were subject to seizure.
CBP officers at Port Everglades, Florida, seized 8,500 units of counterfeit designer brand perfumes, including Gucci, Burberry, Armani and Lancome, that arrived from Singapore and were destined for Miami. Officers inspected the shipment on Feb. 10 and, with CBP Headquarters Intellectual Property Enforcement Branch, determined on April 2 that the goods were counterfeit and seized them. The perfumes were appraised at $1,010,940 Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price had they been genuine.
CBP's Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center described enforcement cases in which importers evaded duties through undervaluation, misclassification and illegal transshipment. In one case, 12 Patek Philippe watches shipped from St. Maarten were undervalued at about $500 each against a value of over $1.9 million, drawing $21,000 in duties, a $108,000 penalty and over $86,740 in unpaid duties from prior shipments. In another, plastic food containers from China classified as household goods at 3.4% instead of the 3% commercial rate left the importer owing $50 million, and four importers of the same product owe nearly $39 million combined.
CBSA states in Customs Notice 26-08 that imports of bat specimens in any form must be declared on the commercial invoice and import declarations and require a Permit to import Animal Products and By-Products issued by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency through MyCFIA before the shipment reaches Canada. The requirement covers fruit and insectivorous bats in the Order Chiroptera, whether whole, skeletal, body parts, tissue, cell lines or DNA, and whether or not encased in resin, plastic or a picture frame or preserved in formaldehyde, under the Health of Animals Regulations.
CBP modified the Withhold Release Order issued September 30, 2020, against palm oil and palm oil products produced in Malaysia by FGV Holdings Berhad, its subsidiaries and joint ventures. As of January 15, 2026, CBP will no longer detain those goods at ports of entry and, effective immediately, will allow them to enter the United States provided they are otherwise compliant with U.S. laws. CBP states it does not modify a WRO until it has evidence that the producer no longer produces the subject goods using forced labor.
CBP states that the U.S. Department of the Treasury will stop issuing paper checks for all CBP refunds on Feb. 6, 2026, unless the recipient has an approved waiver under 31 C.F.R. § 208.4, and that two upgrades to the ACE Secure Data Portal prepare users for the electronic refund process. The changes, outlined in the Interim Final Rule: Electronic Refunds, follow Executive Order 14247 on modernizing federal payments. The first upgrade adds a secure online tool for authorizing electronic refunds and the second simplifies the application process for creating importer accounts.
Why it matters: Importers, brokers and other refund recipients must be enrolled for electronic refunds through the ACE Portal before Feb. 6, 2026, or hold an approved waiver under 31 C.F.R. § 208.4 to keep receiving paper checks.
CBP issued a Withhold Release Order against automobile tires manufactured in Serbia by Linglong International Europe D.O.O. Zrenjanin, effective immediately, and CBP personnel at all U.S. ports of entry will detain shipments of these tires based on evidence reasonably indicating the use of forced labor in their production. The WRO, the fifth in 2025 and the second in Fiscal Year 2026, was issued for violations of 19 U.S.C. § 1307, and CBP cites nine International Labour Organization indicators of forced labor at Linglong. Importers of detained shipments may seek to destroy or export their shipments or seek to demonstrate that the merchandise was not produced with forced labor.
Why it matters: Importers of automobile tires manufactured in Serbia by Linglong International Europe D.O.O.
CBP states it collected over $1 billion in duties on more than 246 million low-cost shipments since the de minimis phaseout began in May 2025. Low-value shipments from China and Hong Kong lost duty-free eligibility on May 2, 2025, and CBP fully implemented the change worldwide on August 29, 2025 with the elimination of the de minimis exemption. CBP also reports that seizures of unsafe and non-compliant low-value goods rose 82% since de minimis ended for China and Hong Kong.
CBP states that its officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport worked with Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service in a multiyear trade fraud investigation that led to two arrests, the seizure of $13.36 million in gold, and the identification of a suspected $86.47 million in evaded duties. CBP says examinations revealed a suspected scheme to route gold jewelry shipments through a foreign intermediary and return them to the United States as "U.S. goods returned," reducing duties owed.
CBP officers at an express consignment facility near Chicago International Airport seized 26 watches and two bracelets arriving from China on Oct. 23 for bearing counterfeit marks: six Richard Mille watches, eight Audemars Piguet watches, four Diesel watches, eight G-Shock watches and two Rolex bracelets. CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise deemed the items inauthentic; CBP states the goods, if genuine, would have had a combined Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price over $8.5 million.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in Louisville seized two shipments from Hong Kong on the night of Oct. 28 containing 53 counterfeit watches bearing unauthorized versions of Richard Mille, Rolex, Hublot, Cartier, Swarovski, G-Shock and Patek Philippe trademarks. CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise deemed the items to bear counterfeit marks, and the shipments, addressed to residences in Union City, Georgia and Doral, Florida, had a combined Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $6.6 million had the goods been genuine. The items have been turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for further inspection.
CBP officers at the Port of Indianapolis seized a shipment of 30 luxury brand watches bearing unauthorized versions of Cartier's federally protected trademark on August 8. The watches, which came from Hong Kong and were headed to New York, would have had a Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of $4.2 million had they been genuine. CBP determined the watches were not authentic with input from its Centers of Excellence and Expertise.
CBP officers in Louisville seized five shipments containing 2,193 pieces of counterfeit jewelry on June 19 and June 20, bearing unauthorized Cartier and Van Cleef and Arpels trademarks. The shipments arrived from China and Hong Kong and were destined for addresses in Pennsylvania, Florida, North Carolina and Michigan. CBP's Centers of Excellence and Expertise determined the items bore counterfeit marks; the goods would have had a combined Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price of over $25.32 million if genuine.
Global Affairs Canada states that, starting February 16, 2025, applicants for export permits for products exported to the United States under the WTO and CUSMA Sugar-Containing Product Tariff Rate Quotas must provide Manufacturer (MID) and Importer of Record (IOR) information. For shipments with multiple MIDs, applicants must designate the primary MID, the manufacturer who performed the most work, and it must match the MID on the import documents submitted to CBP. The IOR must be entered as an IRS number (NN-NNNNNNNXX), a CBP assigned number (NNNNNN-NNNNN) or a Social Security Number (NNN-NN-NNNN).
Global Affairs Canada states that, due to exceptional circumstances, a portion of the sugar-containing products (SCP) export quota to the United States is available for utilization by Canadian residents on a first-come, first-served basis until the quantity is used or September 30, 2019, whichever occurs first, and that as of June 24, 2019 the amount available is 10,261,000 kg. The quota covers only SCPs that are "product of Canada" under item 5203 of the Export Control List, classified under subheadings 1701.91.54, 1704.90.74, 1806.20.75, 1806.20.95, 1806.90.55, 1901.90.56, 2101.12.54, 2101.20.54, 2106.90.78 and 2106.90.95 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (1999).