Criminal or civil? How the US handles customs violations

Mark K. Neville, Jr. (International Trade Counsellors) explains the three regimes the United States uses to enforce customs violations, and why enforcement focus is now shifting, which is directly relevant to customs and trade compliance professionals dealing with US-bound trade.

Topics covered:

• Criminal customs offences under Title 18 of the US Code (18 USC §§ 1541–1542) and why criminal prosecutions have historically been rare
• The new cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force and its focus on origin fraud
• Civil penalties under Section 1592 of the Tariff Act of 1930 (fraud, gross negligence, negligence) and how penalty amounts are calculated
• Prior disclosure as a way to mitigate civil penalties, and the five-year statute of limitations
• The role of the US Court of International Trade in customs collection actions
• The False Claims Act as a fast-growing enforcement tool, including whistleblower ("qui tam") actions and its interaction with CBP investigations

For a broader overview of the topic, please watch the full recording. The slides are available in the Resources section.

Please note that this summary was generated using AI, based on the recording and available slides.