New Customs Crackdown: Why a 50% Penalty Floor Should Be on Every Importer’s Radar

If your business imports inventory into the United States, the rules of the game just changed, and not in a subtle way. A new executive order signed on June 3, 2026, titled "Strengthening Customs Enforcement," directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection to harden its enforcement posture across the board, including a change that should make every importer pay attention: a 50% minimum penalty floor that strips away much of CBP's long-standing discretion to reduce fines.

We move a lot of imported freight from the port to the warehouse for the brands we work with, so we're sharing this as a heads-up. Here's what's happening, why it matters, and what importers should be doing right now.

What the order actually does

For years, when CBP assessed a penalty for a customs violation, importers could petition for mitigation. CBP would weigh aggravating and mitigating factors and, in many cases, substantially reduce the amount owed. That cushion is shrinking.

Under the new order, CBP is directed to revise its mitigation guidelines so that penalties cannot be reduced below 50% of the originally assessed amount. The agency can still consider the circumstances of a violation, but it can no longer settle for pennies on the dollar. For a company hit with a six-figure penalty, the difference between the old discretion and the new floor can be enormous.

The penalty floor is only one piece. The order also directs CBP to:

Require importers to submit foreign customs documentation to verify the accuracy of their entries

Step up audits of importers of record

Enforce liquidated damages claims against customs bonds more aggressively

Restrict the use of in-bond shipments, a common method for moving goods through the U.S. before formal entry

Impose maximum penalties on customs brokers who fail to conduct due diligence, repeatedly represent noncompliant clients, or don't cooperate with CBP information requests

That last point is significant. The order doesn't just target importers. It puts brokers and intermediaries squarely in the enforcement crosshairs.

It's landing alongside new tariff changes

The timing makes compliance even more complicated. Just days earlier, on June 1, the administration issued a proclamation further adjusting Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper, with changes taking effect June 8, 2026 and running through the end of 2027. The standard 25% duty remains for most affected imports, but a reduced 15% rate was extended to new categories including agricultural equipment, residential HVAC systems, and certain industrial machinery.

So importers are being asked to navigate a shifting tariff schedule and a tougher penalty regime at the same time. The cost of a misclassified entry or an undervalued shipment just went up, and the path to negotiating it back down got narrower.

What this means for shippers

The practical takeaway is simple: the margin for error on customs compliance has gotten a lot thinner. Mistakes that might once have been quietly corrected or cheaply settled can now carry penalties that stick.

A few areas worth a hard look:

Classification and valuation

Make sure your HTS codes and declared values are accurate and defensible. These are the most common sources of penalties, and they're exactly what tighter audits will scrutinize.

Documentation

The order's call for foreign customs documentation means importers should be able to substantiate the origin and value of their goods with paperwork from the source. Gaps that were tolerated before may not be now.

Broker relationships

With brokers facing maximum penalties for due-diligence failures, expect more questions, more documentation requests, and less willingness to take compliance shortcuts. That's a feature, not a bug, but it requires importers to be responsive and organized.

In-bond movements

If your supply chain relies on in-bond shipments, review those flows now, as the order specifically targets their misuse. Talk to your customs broker about how this changes your exposure.

The bottom line

The enforcement environment has tightened, and the cushion importers used to count on for reducing penalties has gotten a lot thinner. The brands that treat customs compliance as a core operational discipline, working closely with their customs brokers and keeping clean, defensible documentation, are the ones who will keep goods moving smoothly while their competitors get caught flat-footed.

Once your freight clears customs, that's where we come in. Smooth movement from the port to the warehouse and out to your customers depends on everything upstream going right, which is exactly why changes like this are worth staying ahead of. From drayage and storage to ecommerce fulfillment, we keep the rest of the chain moving so a tighter customs environment doesn't slow your business down.

Sources

Executive Order: Strengthening Customs Enforcement (The White House)

CBP: White House issues new executive order to strengthen customs enforcement

Further Adjusting the Tariff Regimes for Aluminum, Steel, and Copper (The White House)