Tariff evasion enforcement: The new FCPA

Companies that import goods into the United States will face heightened enforcement scrutiny for attempted acts of customs fraud, including tariff evasion, under the Trump administration. Thus, chief compliance officers (CCOs) and in-house counsel face a new kind of pressure to ensure they are mitigating risk in this area.

Historically, customs fraud enforcement has not been an area of risk that has demanded the same level of compliance attention and rigorous internal controls as compared to other areas, like the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) or export controls compliance.

“One of the things that has been most surprising for a lot of people is how critical and relevant tariffs have become for legal counsel, in-house counsel, and compliance leads,” Christopher Timura, a partner at Gibson Dunn, said on a recent law firm webcast panel discussion.