Customs Seizures

Overview
News
Articles
Links

The reasons for seizures or liquidated damages vary, with country of origin marking issues, suspected counterfeit goods or other IP violations, failure to redeliver merchandise, and undeclared merchandise or money common examples. Customs, however, also exercises its enforcement authority on behalf of other federal agencies, including:

Food and Drug Administration
Consumer Products Safety Commission
Animal Plant Health Inspection Service
Fish & Wildlife Service
Environmental Protection Agency

An importer with seized merchandise or a demand for liquidated damages has certain options for remediating the seizure or mitigating potential liquidated damages. Barnes/Richardson lawyers understand these options and can implement the best strategic approach for securing the release of your property or reducing any financial exposure. We draw on our firm-wide experience dealing with CBP seizures and demands for liquidated damages and offer thoughtful and objective solutions to address the circumstances of your situation, whether it be via the administrative petition process, judicial forfeiture in the local district court or abandonment of the property.

Sep. 1, 2026: CBP Seeks Input on New Supply Chain Traceability Requirements
Aug. 28, 2026: Executive Order to Prohibit Imports of Electrical Grid Equipment
Aug. 25, 2026: Canada Issues Retaliatory Tariffs List
Aug. 24, 2026: United States Imposes Section 338 Duties on Canada
Aug. 20, 2026: Path Forward for Section 301 Forced Labor Duties Litigation Set
Aug. 19, 2026: White House Delays Section 338 Tariffs on Canada
Aug. 18, 2026: CBP Targets Importer of Record Data for Enforcement Actions
Aug. 14, 2026: Trump Implements Section 232 Duties Against Drones and Drone Parts
Aug. 13, 2026: U.S. Agreement Expands Archaeological and Ethnological Import Restrictions
Aug. 10, 2026: Polysilicon Tariff Minimums Imposed under Section 232
Aug. 7, 2026: Taiwan Manufacturer Agrees to $51.5 Million False Claims Act Settlement
Aug. 6, 2026: Challenges Raised to 301 Forced Labor Tariffs
Aug. 5, 2026: BIS Poised to Impose Section 232 Duties on More Metal Products
Aug. 3, 2026: White House Orders 4-Year TRQ on Quartz
Aug. 3, 2026: DHS Identifies 43 Companies Associated With Forced Labor
Jul. 30, 2026: The FCC Has Added Foreign-Produced Robots and Power Inverters to the "Covered List," Effectively Barring Imports
Jul. 23, 2026: Forced Labor Section 301 Duties Start Friday at 12:01 a.m.
Jul. 20, 2026: CBP's Section 232 Copper Smelt and Cast Reporting Requirements Guidance
Jul. 20, 2026: White House Introduces Section 338 Tariffs on Canadian Articles
Jul. 16, 2026: Commerce Department Publishes Rulemaking Docket: What's on the Chopping Block and What's Getting the Ol' College Try…. At Least for Now
Jul. 16, 2026: Long-Awaited Brazil 301 Duties Issued
Jul. 16, 2026: Trade Fraud Task Force Lays Out Tools it Intends to Use Against Fraud
Jul. 10, 2026: White House Declines Section 232 Tariff on Aerospace Articles
Jul. 2, 2026: CAPE Processing Restrictions for Warehouse Entries
Jun. 30, 2026: European Union Implements U.S. Trade Deal
Jun. 30, 2026: CBP Updates Vehicle Duty Offset Guidance
Jun. 30, 2026: PHASE 2: CBP Now Accepting Reconciliation Entries in CAPE
Jun. 18, 2026: United States Finds Forced Labor for Serbian Copper Producer
Jun. 16, 2026: Supreme Court Declines to Review HMTX Challenge to Section 301 Tariffs
Jun. 15,2026: CBP Releases Updated Guidance on Forced Labor Prohibition Enforcement
Jun. 10, 2026: E.U. May be Joining Others in Harder Line Toward China Trade
Jun. 9, 2026: Forced Labor Watchdog Barred from Suing U.S. Customs
May 27, 2026: Commerce and USTR Implement Section 232 Relief for Taiwan
May 26, 2026: CBP Ruling Clarifies Price Paid or Payable
May 26, 2026: CBP Updates CAPE Guidance for Entries Flagged for Reconciliation
May 13, 2026: And Suddenly, Shippers Have Choices
May 12, 2026: BIS Set to Publish Notice on Applications for Pharmaceutical Company-Specific Agreements
May 11, 2026: CBP Releases Updated Guidance on 232s for USMCA Medium and Heavy Vehicles
May 8, 2026: Court of International Trade Panel Strikes Down Section 122 Tariffs, Throws Out Most State Suits
May 4, 2026: U.S.& EU Align on Critical Minerals Supply Chain Resilience
Apr. 27, 2026: EU Commissioner Šefcovic on EU-U.S. Steel Talks
Apr. 24, 2026: CIT Decision Highlights CAPE Phase II IEEPA Refund Concerns
Apr. 24, 2026: Potential AD/CVD for Mexican, Vietnamese, & Thai Chassis
Apr. 21, 2026: CAPE Phase 1, Day One, Better Than Feared
Apr. 20, 2026: CBP Updates Guidance on Jones Act Waiver
Apr. 20, 2026: BIS Enforcement Action Against Coastal PVA Technology Signals Continued Scrutiny of EAR99 Exports
Apr. 14, 2026: CBP Publishes CAPE Phase 1 Update

View Archive

Jan. 22, 2025: Webinar: What We Know After the Inauguration
Sep. 9, 2024: McPherson to Co-Moderate Export Enforcement Discussion
Jun. 2, 2023: BRC and Attorneys Ranked in 2023 Chambers Guide
May 4, 2017: BRC Partner Lawrence Friedman to Speak at Upcoming PERT Event
March 2, 2017: David G. Forgue to Participate in Georgetown International Trade Update
February 14, 2017: BRC, Joern Law Firm to Hold Joint Webinar on Consumer Product Safety Rules and Import Requirements
By: Lawrence M. Friedman
April 10, 2014: BRC Secures Return of Seized Currency
February 5, 2013: Detentions, Exclusions, and Customs Protests
By: Lawrence M. Friedman
October 2, 2007: Brand Owners Can Prevent Increasingly Costly Offshore Counterfeit Activities
By: Frederic D. Van Arnam, Jr.
July 13, 2007: Strategies for Dealing with Counterfeiting
By: Frederic D. Van Arnam, Jr.
August 1, 2006: Section 337 Cases on the Rise

U.S. Customs & Border Protection Seizure Information