Executive Order 14411: Strengthening Customs Enforcement
This Executive Order (EO), issued on June 3, 2026, mandates comprehensive reforms to U.S. customs enforcement. It addresses systemic inefficiencies, loopholes, and outdated processes that have allowed malign actors to evade federal law, threatening national security, undermining foreign relations, disadvantaging domestic businesses, and harming Americans. The EO aims to protect national security, promote lawful trade, ensure timely duty collection, modernize systems, bolster compliance, increase transparency, and protect the domestic economy.
Importers of Record (IORs)
This section outlines significant changes to IOR eligibility, responsibilities, and vetting, with specific directives for the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary).
- Compliance Requirement: IOR Eligibility Revisions (Within 180 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary must revise IOR eligibility regulations, guidance, and policies. These revisions include requiring IORs to maintain a minimum level of tangible domestic assets, bonding, or both, as determined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and increasing minimum bond coverage.
- Compliance Requirement: Data and Reporting (Within 180 days of June 3, 2026): IORs must be designated and reported to CBP, with a bond or sufficient tangible domestic assets required for all formal and informal entries. IORs must provide additional data, including anticipated import volumes, year organized, ownership and beneficial ownership disclosures, business affiliation disclosures, and domestic asset disclosures.
- Compliance Requirement: Restrictions on Foreign IORs (Promptly): The Secretary shall prohibit foreign IORs from filing informal entries. For formal entries, foreign IORs may not rely on a continuous bond (unless CBP permits with full revenue protection) and must either be CTPAT validated (if eligible) or use a CTPAT validated and licensed customs broker. These measures are deemed necessary due to enforcement challenges against foreign actors.
- Compliance Requirement: IOR "Good Standing" and Vetting (Within 180 days of June 3, 2026): All IORs must maintain "good standing" with CBP, defined by compliance history and payment of liabilities. IORs found to have illegally imported illicit substances (e.g., fentanyl, nitazene) will not be in "good standing" and will be barred from importing. Additionally, the IOR registry must be updated to remove inactive IORs, confirm active IOR compliance, and create risk-based tiers. Enhanced, recurrent vetting procedures must be established for all individuals and entities involved in importation, including foreign IORs, affiliates, customs brokers, and freight forwarders.
Import Disclosure and Certification Requirements
This section mandates heightened requirements for import documentation and certifications.
- Compliance Requirement: Heightened Disclosures: The Secretary shall establish heightened import disclosure and certification requirements. These include certifying compliance with critical supply chain requirements (e.g., Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act), disclosing foreign tax and global business identifiers, and providing detailed information about the imported good’s supply chain and production methods (e.g., manufacturer’s product identifier, key specifications). Noncompliance will result in criminal fines and civil penalties.
- Compliance Requirement: Foreign Exporter Documentation (Within 90 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary shall require the submission of any documentation or information that the foreign exporter was required to submit to their foreign customs administration prior to exporting to the United States.
Enforcement and Penalties
The EO directs actions to strengthen enforcement and revise penalty standards.
- Compliance Requirement: Bolstered Enforcement: The Secretary shall bolster enforcement of customs laws, regulations, and mandates. Actions include enforcing liquidated damages claims against bonds, restricting in-bond utilization, increasing audits, and imposing maximum penalties for brokers who fail due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or fail to cooperate with CBP.
- Prioritized Enforcement: The Secretary and the Attorney General shall prioritize enforcement against importations involving products produced by forced labor, misclassification, undervaluation, and illegal transshipment, including investigations under the Enforce and Protect Act.
- Compliance Requirement: Revised Mitigation Standards (Within 90 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary shall revise mitigation standards to establish a minimum penalty floor of not less than 50 percent of the assessed penalty (absent exceptional national security circumstances), a minimum liquidated damages floor, and eliminate mitigation for repeat offenders.
Streamlined Disposal
This section focuses on expediting the handling of non-compliant imports.
- Compliance Requirement: Expedited Seizure and Disposal (Within 90 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary shall take actions to expedite and enhance the seizure and disposal of non-compliant imports. This includes reducing or eliminating regulatory burdens for voluntary abandonment, increasing bond requirements for high-risk shipments, authorizing third-party disposal, and utilizing authorities under 19 U.S.C. 1612.
Transparency
The EO calls for increased transparency in customs operations.
- Compliance Requirement: Enhanced Transparency Measures (Within 90 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary, in consultation with relevant agencies, shall enhance transparency by establishing requirements, standards, and practices. These measures include requiring periodic review and expiration of confidentiality requests and publishing annual enforcement transparency reports, consistent with applicable law and national security.
Legislation and Reporting
The EO includes directives for legislative recommendations and ongoing reporting.
- Legislative Recommendations (Within 45 days of June 3, 2026): The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget and other agencies, shall submit recommendations for legislation to strengthen customs enforcement to the President.
- Effectiveness Report (Within 1 year of June 3, 2026): The Secretary shall submit a report to the President on the effectiveness of the matters set forth in this order.
Definitions
Key terms are defined to clarify the scope of the EO.
- U.S. IOR: An IOR who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident (individual), or an entity organized under U.S. laws, located in the U.S., with controlling beneficial owner(s) who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, or owns a significant amount of real property in the U.S.
- Foreign IOR: An IOR that does not meet the definition of a "U.S. IOR."
- "Located in the United States": The Secretary will provide guidance to prevent entities from using shell companies or artificial structuring. Minimum requirements include having its principal place of business in the U.S., a physical presence where significant business activity is conducted in the U.S., and sufficient tangible assets located in the U.S.