On August 29, 2025, the US Department of Justice (DOJ), in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), launched a cross-agency Trade Fraud Task Force, in order to support enforcement against tariff evasion, customs fraud, and smuggling schemes.
The TFTF aims “to bring robust enforcement against importers and other parties who seek to defraud the United States” and to deliver on President Trump’s declared America First Trade Policy, released on January 20, 2025. According to the DOJ, the TFTF should increase U.S. government revenue, bolster domestic industries, boost consumer confidence, and enhance national security.
The Task Force integrates prosecutors and trial attorneys from both DOJ’s Criminal and Civil Divisions with DHS elements – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) – to pursue both criminal and civil enforcement under the Tariff Act, False Claims Act (FCA), and other criminal fraud statutes. The announcement “encourages all importers and their agents to conduct thorough audits of their importing practices and voluntarily self-disclose and remediate unlawful behavior.” The DOJ called upon victims, whistleblowers, and potential violators to assist in the TFTF work.
Among the targets: “below-market, industry-destabilizing goods”; “smugglers who seek to import prohibited goods” and “prohibited items that violate intellectual property rights of American companies”; frauds that “threatens [U.S.] economic and national security interests”; trade-behaviors that “undermine[s] honest American competitors”.