We publish what actually affects landed cost and clearance timing for importers into the United States and Canada — facts and what we can do, not legal advice.
The government wants US$67.9M in unpaid duties and US$222.5M in penalties — 3.3 times the duty — from an importer of kitchen and bath products and from its chief executive, jointly and severally. The goods are ordinary building materials, which is exactly why this one is worth reading.
CBP begins voiding inaccurate importer of record numbers today. A second, quieter rule has been live since July 16: no entry in 366 days and ACE deactivates your IOR automatically. You will find out at the worst possible moment — and the way back runs through the same Form 5106.
Three proclamations move alcoholic beverages, dairy and motor vehicles from a 50% duty to an outright import ban. Goods that arrive before 12:01 a.m. ET on September 29 can still be entered at 50%. Goods that arrive after cannot come in at all. Updated October 13 with CBP's implementing guidance: the ban also closes the FTZ and bonded-warehouse routes, and entries are rejected outright.
15%, 25% or 50% on U.S.-origin goods entering Canada as of today. Cargo already moving on September 8 is not caught, but the exemption runs on documents you must already hold — and GST is charged on top of the surtax.
A new CBP notice floats requiring importers to hand over the export declaration, invoice and origin certificate that the foreign supplier filed with its own customs authority — so CBP can reconcile the two sets of numbers. Nothing is law yet. Comments close December 1, 2026.
The Justice Department has stood up a section dedicated to import and trade crime, and the DOJ–DHS task force passed $1 billion in recoveries and charged losses in under a year. Country of origin is where most of these cases start.
The merchandise processing fee minimum goes to $34.58 and the cap to $670.86. The rate itself does not move — which is exactly why small entries feel this and large ones do not.
If the address, email or phone on your CBP Form 5106 is not genuinely yours, CBP can void your IOR number outright — and the notice goes to whatever email is already on file.
Since August 5, money owed on a post summary correction can no longer be paid by check — and a partial payment blocks every later correction on the same entry.
If you paid fentanyl or reciprocal duties between February 2025 and February 2026, that money is refundable — but only the importer of record or the broker who filed the entry can claim it.
The Importer Security Filing is due 24 hours before loading — and most missed filings trace back to data that arrived too late.
Customers can now see every milestone — pickup, clearance, delivery, invoice — without waiting on an email.
The $800 exemption is gone across all modes. Every parcel now needs an entry — and classification data many sellers never collected.
Delayed three days at the last minute, live since 12:01 a.m. ET on August 22. USMCA does not exempt them — and Canada's retaliation is now in force too: 629 tariff items at 15%, 25% and 50%, effective September 8.
Bonding gets harder, continuous bonds are restricted, and CTPAT validation enters the picture.
Who we are, what we run, and how we keep demurrage and detention off your invoice.
