Last month, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the launch of a “cross-agency” Trade Fraud Task Force “to bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States.” According to DOJ, the Task Force will “augment the existing coordination mechanisms” within DOJ and leverage expertise from DOJ’s Civil and Criminal Divisions and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) “to aggressively pursue enforcement actions against any parties who seek to evade tariffs and other duties, as well as smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods into the American economy.”
SOURCE: Global Trade and Sanctions Blog – Pillsbury Law
The Task Force announcement occurs against the backdrop of intensified tariff activity, including reciprocal tariffs on nearly every trading partner, and investigations on imports of critical materials from semiconductors to metals and minerals and pharmaceuticals under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act. While statutes such as the False Claims Act (FCA) have occasionally predicated trade-related actions in the past, the Task Force represents a concerted effort by the U.S. government to bring greater resources, statutory authorities and prosecutorial power to bear on alleged customs violations. The Task Force is expected to promote coordination between DOJ and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to target evasion schemes, including false origin declarations, misclassification, fraudulent under-valuations and other alleged violations that undermine tariff policy and deprive the Government of tariff revenue. As discussed further below, this will likely include not only traditional CBP civil penalty enforcement but also civil and criminal actions under the FCA and statutes such as wire fraud, importing through false statements, and conspiracy.
For importers, this dual pressure—policy expansion coupled with enforcement escalation—creates a complex compliance environment. While the announcement provides important information about how the Task Force will operate, importers and related businesses should stay attuned to the broader trade enforcement context and the open questions that remain in order to assess and mitigate their own risk. At the end of this piece we offer discrete recommendations, including audit and supply chain compliance that incorporates increased risk of DOJ involvement and FCA claims; internal and external reporting mechanisms for potential violations, from both companies and their competitors; and monitoring fast-moving legislative, judicial and regulatory developments that can impact import compliance.
How the Task Force Will Operate
