CBP officers in Norfolk seize counterfeit-marked ceramic sinks and fraudulently imported radiators from China

CBP officers in Norfolk, Virginia seized 2,772 ceramic sinks bearing a counterfeit UPC certification mark and 543 automotive radiators imported using a victim's stolen identity, both shipments originating from China and seized on Oct. 6. The sinks, destined for Irvine, Calif., were appraised at $462,501 manufacturer's suggested retail price if authentic; the radiators, destined for Los Angeles, were appraised at $120,296. CBP states the sinks' UPC shield and design mark were verified as used without authorization, and that stolen identities and shell companies are used to evade tariffs or smuggle contraband.

BIS issues guidance to CBP on assessing U.S. content under Proclamation 11032 clause (2)(D)

The Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security published guidance to U.S. Customs and Border Protection on assessing "U.S. content" for purposes of implementing tariffs under Clause (2)(D) of Proclamation 11032 of June 1, 2026. The document is a Federal Register notice; the available text does not state the products, countries, rates or an effective date.

WTO Rules of Origin Committee reviews LDC preferences; U.S. says AGOA and Haiti preferences extended to September 2028

The WTO Committee on Rules of Origin met on 7-8 October 2026 to review preferential rules of origin for least-developed countries, hear updates from preference-granting members and discuss origin administration and digital tools. The United States updated members on its preferential schemes for LDCs, noting that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and trade preferences for Haiti had been extended until September 2028. China presented a study on LDC utilization of its trade preferences, and LDCs said China's methodology appeared to combine utilization under LDC-specific arrangements with other preferential schemes.

CIT denies Commerce extension, orders exclusion of Jiangyang Wood and Dehua TB from hardwood plywood AD order

The U.S. Court of International Trade, in Slip Op. 26-120 in Consol. Court No. 18-00002, denied the government's motion for an extension of time for Commerce to file remand results and ordered Commerce to exclude Xuzhou Jiangyang Wood Industries Co., Ltd. and Zhejiang Dehua TB Import & Export Co., Ltd. from the Antidumping Duty Order on Hardwood Plywood from China, imposing no antidumping duty margins on them. The court held that the Federal Circuit's decision in Linyi II, 174 F.4th 1351 (Fed. Cir. 2026), made the exclusion final, so Commerce may not reopen the record to calculate individual rates.

CBSA requires country of melt and pour information for steel imports under GIPs 80 and 81

CBSA states that, as of November 5, 2024, importers using GIP Number 80 – Carbon Steel and GIP Number 81 – Specialty Steel Products must provide country of melt and pour (COM) information in the form and manner determined by CBSA when completing customs declarations through the Single Window Integrated Import Declaration. The requirement is a term and condition of using the GIPs, and CBSA notes the conditional COM rules are not expected to be implemented in the SW IID on November 5, though the COM field has been available on an optional basis since February 2024.

United States Surtax Order (2025-1)

CBP seizes five shipments in Virginia over counterfeit, unsafe and fraudulently imported goods

CBP officers in Norfolk, Virginia seized five shipments of imported consumer goods — including dry-fit t-shirts from Morocco, rugs from Turkey, ceramic tiles and Land Rover parts from China, ceramic sinks from China and carpet rolls from China — for counterfeit certification marks, violations of the Flammable Fabrics Act and importation using stolen identities, with a combined value of nearly $856,000. The most recent seizure, on Tuesday, covered 697 cartons of t-shirts valued at $61,240; the largest, 1,176 rolls of carpet bearing counterfeit OEKO-TEX labels, was valued at $686,000 had it been authentic. The shipments were destined to Albany, N.Y., Tustin, Calif., San Francisco and Atlanta.

CBSA amends Customs Tariff to add CPUKT treatment for the United Kingdom, Channel Islands and Isle of Man

The Canada Border Services Agency states in Customs Notice 26-22 that the CPTPP enters into force for the United Kingdom on September 1, 2026, so eligible goods from the United Kingdom imported into Canada are entitled to the Comprehensive and Progressive United Kingdom Tariff (CPUKT) tariff treatment, Code 35, as of September 1, 2026. The T2026-2 Customs Tariff adds the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and Isle of Man to the list of countries for CPUKT treatment and sets the applicable duty rates for tariff items in Chapters 1 to 99.

Global Affairs Canada amends GIP No. 83 to require smelt and cast country reporting for aluminum imports

Global Affairs Canada states in Notice to Importers Serial No. 1170 that, effective October 1, 2026, importers of aluminum products under General Import Permit No. 83 must report and keep records of the country of largest smelt, country of second-largest smelt (if any) and country of most recent cast.

Executive Order 14425 directs review of rancher regulations and possible mandatory beef country-of-origin labeling

Executive Order 14425 of September 4, 2026 directs the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Trade Representative, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to submit a report to the President within 90 days assessing agency regulations, guidance and policies affecting ranchers and recommending action on financial viability and market access.

Baltimore CBP officers seize $142,372 in plywood from China imported with a stolen identity

CBP officers in Baltimore seized over 8,500 falcata plywood sheets from China on Aug. 27, valued at $142,372, after the importer of record used a fraudulent identity on import documentation, tampered with the shipping invoice and declared the goods as Indonesian-origin and worth nearly $19,000. CBP determined the plywood originated in China and was subject to antidumping and countervailing duties, and seized it as smuggled or clandestinely introduced merchandise under 19 USC 1595a(c)(1)(A). The investigation continues.

CBP Chicago seizes over 13,000 prohibited agriculture items from China shipment

CBP's Port of Chicago Agriculture Cargo Unit seized 13,683 pieces of prohibited plant and animal products from a shipment that originated in China and was manifested as women's nylon shirts. The shipment, weighing over 1,700 pounds in 68 prelabeled boxes, contained live cacti, succulents, pork, plant cuttings and 31 pounds of peyote, and lacked proper documentation, permits and phytosanitary certifications. CBP describes it as a "master carton" smuggling scheme in which unmanifested individual shipments are prelabeled for domestic parcel delivery.

CBP seeks comments on advance rule for heightened import supply chain disclosures

CBP issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking stating it is considering amending its regulations to require greater visibility into the supply chains of goods imported into the United States, including information on the parties involved in importation, technical solutions for tracing supply chains, and foreign export documentation that foreign exporters must submit to their customs authority before export to the United States. CBP says the proposals aim to detect and interdict illicit importations, especially goods illegally transshipped to evade U.S. customs and trade laws. Comments are due on or before December 1, 2026, under docket number USCBP-2026-1058.

CIT denies as moot NRDC motion to enforce MMPA import provisions settlement

The U.S. Court of International Trade denied as moot the plaintiffs' motion to enforce the settlement agreement in Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. v. Lutnick, Court No. 24-00148, Slip Op. 26-97, dated August 19, 2026, after all parties agreed no live controversy remained. The court noted that the Marine Mammal Protection Act import provisions, 16 U.S.C. § 1371(a)(2), have been implemented for the first time since the MMPA's 1972 enactment, with comparability findings issued for 135 nations covering approximately 2,500 fisheries and import bans on fish caught with commercial fishing technology causing incidental kill or serious injury of ocean mammals in excess of U.S. standards.

CIT denies JBF Bahrain summary judgment in US-Bahrain FTA origin dispute

The U.S. Court of International Trade held in Slip Op. 26-99, Court No. 23-00067, that under HTSUS General Note 30 a third-country input must undergo double substantial transformation to count toward the 35 percent value requirement of the United States–Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, and that the CBP regulation adopting the tariff-shift test in 19 C.F.R. § 10.809(i) is ultra vires and invalid. The court denied JBF Bahrain W.L.L.'s motion for partial summary judgment and granted the government's cross-motion, finding the importer's tariff-shift reading of the regulation wrong in any event because it also requires the tariff shift to occur twice.

CIT denies dismissal and preliminary injunction in challenge to NMFS 2026 comparability findings on New Zealand fisheries

The U.S. Court of International Trade, in Slip Op. 26-73, Court No. 26-02462, denied the government's motion to dismiss for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and denied Maui and Hector's Dolphin Defenders NZ Inc.'s motion for a preliminary injunction that would have enjoined NMFS's March 11, 2026 comparability findings and imposed an import ban on New Zealand set net and trawl fisheries. The plaintiff challenges the 2026 Comparability Findings, 91 Fed. Reg. 11,962, as arbitrary and capricious and contrary to law under 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A), and alleges the failure to implement an import ban is agency action unlawfully withheld or unreasonably delayed under 5 U.S.C. § 706(1).

CBSA: GIP 83 aluminum import reporting of smelt and cast countries mandatory October 1, 2026

The Canada Border Services Agency states in Customs Notice 26-15 that, when the Order Amending the General Import Permit No. 83 — Aluminum Products comes into force on October 1, 2026, importers must submit the country of largest smelt (CLS), country of second-largest smelt (C2S) and country of most recent cast (CRC) to the CBSA via the Single Window Initiative Integrated Import Declaration; until then submission is optional. The requirements apply to all aluminum HS codes in Global Affairs Canada's SWI IID Regulated Commodities Data Element Matching Criteria Table, and cover goods containing primary aluminum for CLS and C2S and all goods covered by GIP 83 for CRC.

CIT sustains Commerce scope ruling that Chinese-origin cabinets further processed in Malaysia remain covered by AD/CVD orders

In Slip Op. 26-39, Court No. 24-00155, the U.S. Court of International Trade sustained Commerce's final scope determination for the antidumping and countervailing duty orders on wooden cabinets and vanities and components thereof from the People's Republic of China as applied to further processing in Malaysia, denying ACProducts, Inc. and related plaintiffs' motion for judgment on the agency record. Commerce found that Scenario 1, 2 and 3 cabinets produced in China and combined in Malaysia with Malaysian-made cabinet parts are Chinese in origin and covered by the orders, while Scenario 4 cabinets containing a Chinese toe kick and otherwise Malaysian parts are third-country in origin and not covered.

CIT sustains Commerce scope ruling on Chinese wooden cabinets further processed in Vietnam

The U.S. Court of International Trade sustained Commerce's final scope determination covering wooden cabinets and vanities and components thereof from China, holding that cabinets produced in China and combined in Vietnam with Vietnamese-made wooden parts remain Chinese in origin and within the antidumping and countervailing duty orders. Cabinets containing a Chinese-made wooden toe kick with all other wooden parts produced in Vietnam are third-country in origin and outside the orders. Judge Leo M. Gordon issued the opinion in Court No. 24-00156, Slip Op. 26-40, dated April 21, 2026, denying the plaintiffs' motion for judgment on the agency record.

CBP details duty evasion cases involving undervaluation, misclassification and transshipment

CBP's Consumer Products and Mass Merchandising Center described enforcement cases in which importers evaded duties through undervaluation, misclassification and illegal transshipment. In one case, 12 Patek Philippe watches shipped from St. Maarten were undervalued at about $500 each against a value of over $1.9 million, drawing $21,000 in duties, a $108,000 penalty and over $86,740 in unpaid duties from prior shipments. In another, plastic food containers from China classified as household goods at 3.4% instead of the 3% commercial rate left the importer owing $50 million, and four importers of the same product owe nearly $39 million combined.

Global Affairs Canada sets EV import quota rules for vehicles from China under Notice 1162

Global Affairs Canada states in Notice Serial No. 1162 that, from March 1, 2026, imports of electric vehicles originating in China under Import Control List items 195 (1) to (3) require a shipment-specific import permit and are administered under a quota, with 24,500 vehicles available on a first-come, first-served basis for March 1, 2026 to August 31, 2026. Eligible EVs are assessed at a most-favoured-nation tariff rate of 6.1%, and the 100% surtax under the China Surtax Order (2024) has been repealed.

CBP assists HSI and IRS trade fraud probe; two arrested, $13.36 million in gold seized

CBP states that its officers at John F. Kennedy International Airport worked with Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service in a multiyear trade fraud investigation that led to two arrests, the seizure of $13.36 million in gold, and the identification of a suspected $86.47 million in evaded duties. CBP says examinations revealed a suspected scheme to route gold jewelry shipments through a foreign intermediary and return them to the United States as "U.S. goods returned," reducing duties owed.

Canada requires MID and IOR data on export permits for U.S. sugar-containing product TRQs

Global Affairs Canada states that, starting February 16, 2025, applicants for export permits for products exported to the United States under the WTO and CUSMA Sugar-Containing Product Tariff Rate Quotas must provide Manufacturer (MID) and Importer of Record (IOR) information. For shipments with multiple MIDs, applicants must designate the primary MID, the manufacturer who performed the most work, and it must match the MID on the import documents submitted to CBP. The IOR must be entered as an IRS number (NN-NNNNNNNXX), a CBP assigned number (NNNNNN-NNNNN) or a Social Security Number (NNN-NN-NNNN).

Canada's Global Affairs amends GIPs No. 80 and 81 to require country of melt and pour for steel imports

Global Affairs Canada states in Notice to Importers SER 1133 that, effective November 5, 2024, importers using General Import Permit No. 80 – Carbon Steel and General Import Permit No. 81 – Specialty Steel Products must provide country of melt and pour information at the time of importation as a term and condition of the permits. The requirement covers carbon steel under HS headings 7206-7217, 7225-7229, 7301-7302, 7304-7306 and 7308, and specialty steel under HS headings 7218-7224, 7312-7313 and 7317.

Global Affairs Canada clarifies import permit rules for milk protein substances

Global Affairs Canada states that imports of milk protein substances (MPS) with a milk protein content of 85% or more by weight, calculated on the dry matter, that do not originate in a NAFTA country, an EU country or other CETA beneficiary, Chile, Costa Rica or Israel are subject to import controls under Canada's Export Import Permit Act, and that only products qualifying as originating products under the concerned trade agreement are exempt from the import permit requirement. Goods shipped via a third country must meet Article 14 (Transport through a third country) to qualify; otherwise an import permit is required.