Trade Fraud Enforcement Is Transforming from Policy Initiative to Institutionalized Program

Key Takeaways from DOJ and DHS’s Landmark Trade Fraud Enforcement Guide

On July 14, 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) jointly released A Resource Guide to Trade Fraud Enforcement, marking the most comprehensive government publication yet dedicated to explaining how federal agencies investigate and prosecute customs and trade fraud.

The guide was announced alongside broader DOJ organizational changes including the creation of the Global Trade and Commerce Enforcement Section (GTCES) within DOJ’s National Fraud Enforcement Division.

These latest actions and announcements combined with other recent releases, including Executive Order 1411 “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” strongly suggest that customs and trade enforcement is transforming from a policy-driven initiative originally focused on tariffs into an institutionalized enforcement program designed to endure for years to come.

Inside the Guide: Key Highlights & Takeaways

The 27-page guide is organized into 5 chapters covering a brief introduction, the customs entry process, select anti-fraud enforcement statutes, forced labor, and common trade fraud typologies. The guide sets forth statutory requirements in clear detail while providing practical insights into DOJ and DHS enforcement practices.

Several themes stand out.

The Enforcement Agenda is Anchored in Three Pillars

Much of the attention to date around trade fraud has been focused on tariff evasion. While tariffs remain a key topic, it is one of three primary imperatives set forth in the guide:

Fiscal Health: Protecting domestic industries collecting lawful revenue
Public Safety: Preventing unsafe goods from entering U.S. commerce
Human Dignity: Combating forced labor and other human rights abuses

The guide’s emphasis on fiscal health, public safety, and human dignity reinforces the broader evolution of trade fraud enforcement from a policy initiative focused on tariffs into an institutionalized enforcement program. Regardless of how future administrations adjust to tariff policy, these underlying governmental interests are likely to endure as enforcement priorities for years to come.

Scrutiny Extends Across the Supply Chain, Not Solely on Importers

While the Importer of Record (IOR) remains the primary focus, DOJ and DHS emphasize that liability may reach any party that knowingly participates in, facilitates, or profits from trade fraud. Depending on the facts, that can include customs brokers, manufacturers, distributors, sourcing agents, and other intermediaries involved in the import transaction.

Much of the government’s visibility across the supply chain stems from Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) data, the centralized electronic import transaction data submitted to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by importers and customs brokers. Combined with increasingly sophisticated analytics, ACE enables enforcement agencies with advanced data mining, pattern recognition, and anomaly detection to identify potential indicators of trade fraud.

The guide makes clear that every participant in the supply chain — from the importer to the secondary wholesaler to the transporter — has a role to play in maintaining the integrity of the market.

Any company in the global supply chain, not solely the IOR, is well-advised to evaluate not only their own compliance program, but also the controls, oversight, and due diligence applied to third parties whose actions could expose the company to administrative, civil, or criminal liability.

Trade Fraud Enforcement is not Constrained to a Single Statute or Agency

In the guide, DOJ and DHS underscore their commitment to deploying the full spectrum of administrative, civil, and criminal authorities available to enforce non-compliance.

Administrative Remedies: CBP retains broad administrative enforcement powers, including penalties, liquidated damages, seizure and forfeiture, exclusion of merchandise and importer audits.
Civil Remedies: Where false statements or fraudulent schemes result in underpayment of duties or evasion of trade laws, the civil False Claims Act (FCA) is the preeminent and most powerful tool to recover treble damages and statutory penalties.
Criminal Enforcement: For the most egregious conduct, DOJ may pursue criminal charges under a broad range of federal statutes, including those addressing customs fraud, smuggling, false statements, conspiracy, racketeering, wire fraud, and related offenses.

The guide makes clear that these remedies are complementary, not mutually exclusive. A single course of misconduct may trigger parallel administrative, civil, and criminal proceedings, significantly increasing the financial, operational, and reputational consequences for companies and individuals alike.

Data Analytics, Documentation, and Defensibility

Data has become a cornerstone of modern trade enforcement. For many investigations, the government’s view of the company begins with data submitted through ACE.

The same data-driven capabilities that empower the government can and should be leveraged by companies as a proactive compliance tool. Proactive data analytics can identify unusual import patterns, country-of-origin inconsistencies, valuation anomalies, potential transshipment, and other indicators of risk before they become government inquiries. Combined with robust documentation and effective data governance, these tools enable companies to assess risk, investigate potential issues, and strengthen compliance programs.

When an investigation does arise, data can become one of a company’s strongest defensive assets. Organizations that understand their own data are better positioned to respond quickly, validate legitimate business practices, refute inaccurate allegations, and demonstrate reasonable care through objective, data-driven evidence.

In today’s enforcement environment, the most effective defense begins long before the government asks the first question.

Hallmarks of Effective Compliance Programs

While the DOJ/DHS guide explains how the government approaches enforcement, companies seeking practical on designing effective compliance programs need not start from scratch. The DOJ has already articulated many of these principles through its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) and, together with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the FCPA Resource Guide’s well-known

Hallmarks of an Effective Compliance Program. Although developed outside the trade context, these resources provide a practical, risk-based framework that can be readily adapted to trade compliance.

DOJ Compliance Principle	Trade Compliance Application
Commitment from senior leadership	Culture of compliance, tone at the top, board and executive oversight of trade compliance and a clearly articulated policy against trade fraud
Risk assessment	HTS classification, valuation, country-of-origin declarations and markings, AD/CVD, transshipment, forced labor. Actions to address risks identified.
Code of conduct and compliance policies and procedures	Classification, valuation, broker oversight, record keeping requirements, free trade agreements, duty drawbacks
Oversight, autonomy and resources	Assigned roles and responsibilities for oversight and implementation, adequate autonomy, proportionate resource allocation, oversight of any outsourced compliance functions
Training and communication	Risk-based training, guidance on policies and procedures, practical guidance to address real-world scenarios, periodic certification
Incentives and Disciplinary Measures	Financial incentive system, disciplinary actions for non-compliance, consistent application
Third-party due diligence	Customs brokers, suppliers, manufacturers, freight forwarders
Monitoring, testing, and auditing	ACE data analytics, transactional testing, internal audits
Confidential reporting and investigations	Effective reporting mechanism, commitment to whistleblower protection, anti-retaliation policy, properly scoped investigations by qualified personnel, independence and objectivity, investigation response, resources and tracking results
Continuous improvement	Root-cause analysis, remediation, control enhancements, lessons learned from misconduct

Conclusion

The guide should be viewed as more than an explanation of how DOJ and DHS investigate trade fraud. It offers important insight into where enforcement priorities are headed and, when read alongside the DOJ’s broader compliance program guidance, provides companies with a practical roadmap for strengthening trade compliance programs before issues become investigations. Organizations that proactively assess their risks, leverage data analytics, and invest in demonstrable compliance will be better positioned to navigate an increasingly sophisticated enforcement environment.

How Citrin Cooperman Can Help

Citrin Cooperman is uniquely positioned to assist companies navigate the shifting federal trade policies, intensified enforcement, and evolving compliance expectations. Our integrated team of forensic, trade compliance, tax and industry-dedicated professionals have extensive hands-on experience with trade compliance matters, whistleblower investigations, CBP and DOJ investigations, False Claims Act proceedings, and many of the detailed operational intricacies impacting the current environment. Whether your company is proactively enhancing your compliance program, conducting an internal investigation, or responding to a regulatory inquiry, Citrin Cooperman can help.

Our experience includes:

Data Analytics: We specialize in turning large and complex datasets into actionable insights. Whether you are proactively mining ACE data, mapping your supply chain, testing your control environment, investigating a whistleblower allegation, or responding to a regulatory notice of investigation, we have deep expertise in harnessing big data. We help organizations leverage data analytics to proactively identify, assess, and investigate potential trade compliance risks before they become regulatory inquiries. Our professionals can integrate and analyze data from ACE filings, ERP systems, customs brokers, freight forwarders, purchase orders, invoices, shipping records, supplier data, and other internal and third-party sources to detect potential indicators of non-compliance. Our analytical capabilities include identifying unusual patterns, routing anomalies, sudden shifts in supplier activities, evaluating invoices against transfer-pricing data, applying advanced statistical techniques to identify potentially inconsistent HTS classifications, and atypical broker behaviors amongst others.
False Claims Act Defense: Our professionals have extensiExecutive Order to Strengthen Customs Enforcementve experience assisting organizations and their legal counsel across a broad range of alleged misconduct arising from qui tam actions and government-initiated proceedings.
Compliance Program Assessments: We are experienced in helping companies assess their overall corporate compliance program and its components, identify opportunities for improvement, and develop recommended plans for management to implement. Our experience includes helping companies to benchmark their programs against specific guidance issued by U.S. regulators, including DOJ, for establishing effective compliance programs.
Internal and Whistleblower Investigations: When actual or su spected trade violations are identified, including whistleblower allegations, our highly qualified and experienced professionals can help by comprehensively investigating what occurred, when and how it occurred, who was involved, and the extent of impact.
Remediation: We have extensive experience advising companies and their legal counsel what to do with findings from investigations, which can include making modifications to address control deficiencies, enhancements to policies and procedures. Our remediation experience also includes quantifying financial impact and restitution, such as underpayment of amount owed related to tariffs and duties.
Regulatory Investigations: Regulators often inquire what steps, if any, a company has undertaken to investigate the alleged violation(s). Our professionals specialize in assisting companies and their legal counsel with such inquiries by conducting thorough and independent investigations, which can also reinforce credibility, demonstrate cooperation, and possibly result in leniency if actual violations are uncovered.
Regulatory Enforcement and Legal Proceedings: If regulatory investigations turn to enforcement actions, our professionals have expertise, including extensive experience on False Claims Act matters, helping companies and their legal counsel towards resolution.

Citrin Cooperman's Financial Investigations and Regulatory Enforcement Practice helps companies assess trade fraud exposure, strengthen compliance programs, and respond to government investigations before they escalate. As enforcement agencies expand their use of data analytics and broaden liability across the supply chain, having qualified guidance in place now is critical. To learn more, contact Kevin Tanaka or Atul Chandra.