Bills Introduced in House and Senate to Restrict Non-Resident Importers

Mar. 10, 2026
By: Hannah B. Kreinik

Perhaps indicating the interest in Congress in the issue, new bills were introduced in both the House and Senate that would greatly limit the ability of non-resident parties to act as importers of record (IORs) in the United States. The bill, otherwise known as the Securing Accountability in Foreign Entries Act (SAFE act) would require IORs to be:

• A U.S.-resident firm with at least one U.S. full-time employee or U.S. green card employee,
• A foreign affiliate of a U.S. company with a minimum 3-year history, 1,500 employees, and $1 million in yearly revenue, only if it is jointly liable for duties, or
• A Canadian or Australian company.

The bill would still allow non-resident importers from other countries, but only where the United States Trade Representative and Customs confirmed that the non-resident IOR’s country has equal importer of record laws and U.S. importers were allowed to function as non-resident importers in that country.

In addition to the severely limited scope of potential non-resident importers, the bill would also add additional requirements for companies able to qualify. These include minimum continuous bonds to up to $100,000 and a requirement that duties paid on entries come from an account that has been verified per an anti-money laundering customer ID system.

Interestingly, the bill does account for the large express carriers and their operations. It does this by permitting Customs brokers wholly owned by express operators to act as the importer or record and use the broker bond for entries if the express operator is U.S. incorporated and has 300,000 U.S. employees. Google says that UPS, Fedex, and Amazon all cross this threshold. DHL apparently does not.

If the bill passes through the legislation process and is enacted, importers should expect a shift and/or delay in supply chains as IORs try to comply with the new law. Barnes, Richardson & Colburn attorneys are here to keep importers updated on relevant legislation changes.