New enforcement efforts put trade compliance in focus

New U.S.-Canada tariffs are limited in scope

North American trade tensions escalated after U.S.-Canada negotiations stalled in late August, triggering new U.S. tariffs on select Canadian goods and prompting Canada to announce retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods.

While significant to the targeted industries, the measures affect a limited share of overall U.S.-Canada trade and are widely viewed as leverage in broader trade negotiations rather than a fundamental breakdown of North American commerce. The dispute has, however, increased uncertainty around future revisions of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and is encouraging Canada to further diversify trading relationships beyond the United States.

U.S. tariffs on $20 billion worth of Canadian goods took effect 22 August. If Canada's retaliatory tariffs take effect 8 September, they would apply rates of 15%, 25% and 50% on about 700 targeted U.S. products. An additional U.S. tariff increase of 50% on Canadian autos, auto parts and steel has been announced for 1 January 2027,creating the potential for further escalation if negotiations do not resume.

Many products and sectors remain exempt, limiting the immediate impact on overall North American trade flows. $20 billion in targeted goods represents about 5% of Canada’s exports to the United States.

Final phase of U.S. tariff refund process delayed

U.S. Customs continues to process refunds of tariffs that were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court. As of late August, more than $100 billion in refunds had been issued, with additional claims continuing to move through the agency's review process.

According to an 15 August progress update, approximately 26.4 million customs entries with these duties have been processed since 20 April. An estimated 2.3 million reconciliation-flagged entries have also been filed and are queued for processing.

While refunds are being distributed, processing timelines vary based on the complexity of the original entries.

Customs also announced in late August that it is delaying the final phase of the refund programme, which covers certain entries where duty assessments had already been finalised. The agency said additional validation controls need to be built before those refunds can be processed.

Importers that believe they are eligible for refunds should continue co-ordinating with their customs broker to stay on top of the status of any outstanding claims.

White House increases focus on transshipments

On 16 August, 2026, the White House reported more than 40 transshipment-risk locations, where goods might be getting routed through third countries to evade tariffs. The report emphasises expanded use of artificial intelligence by U.S. Customs to analyse delivery data, production capacity and trade flows to detect potential evasion schemes.

Expect greater scrutiny of sourcing, country-of-origin declarations, claims that goods have undergone substantial transformation and routing patterns.

U.S. Department of Justice establishes trade fraud division

On 24 August, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice established a new National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute fraud involving customs duties, tariffs, imports, foreign commerce and other trade-related activities. This signals increased scrutiny of import declarations, tariff compliance, customs valuation and other trade practices, making strong compliance programmes and accurate customs filings more important than ever.

Global shippers are strongly encouraged to review their trade compliance programmes and refer to the resource guide issued by the departments of Justice and Homeland Security to better understand trade fraud and enforcement.

Visit our Trade & Tariff Insights page for the latest news, insights, perspectives and resources from our customs and trade policy experts.

Table of Contents