DOJ Builds Permanent Trade Fraud Prosecution Unit, Signals FCA and Criminal Risk for Importers
Multinational importers, customs brokers, and supply-chain participants face a new DOJ Global Trade & Commerce Enforcement Section that will pursue tariff evasion, origin fraud, and forced-labor violations using False Claims Act and criminal fraud tools rather than routine CBP penalties.
The DOJ and DHS Trade Fraud Task Force has reported more than $1 billion in recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and charged losses in under a year, and on July 14, 2026, DOJ announced a dedicated Global Trade & Commerce Enforcement Section within its National Fraud Enforcement Division. A companion Trade Enforcement Resource Guide identifies priority risk areas: misclassification, valuation omissions (assists, royalties, side payments), false origin and transshipment schemes, Section 301 and AD/CVD evasion, forced-labor sourcing, unsafe imports, and downstream participation by brokers, distributors, and resellers. The message is that customs noncompliance producing significant revenue loss will be treated as fraud, not as an administrative penalty matter. Importers should audit classification support, valuation methodologies, origin documentation, and supplier due diligence now, and consider prior disclosures where weaknesses are identified, before the new section develops a sustained case pipeline.