Trump orders US customs to crack down on tariff cheats

The executive order landed in Washington President Donald Trump, one day after his administration floated new tariffs of at least 10 percent on 60 economies over forced labor import concerns, signed a directive ordering U.S. Customs and Border Protection to crack down on tariff cheats. The move marks the first major step toward rebuilding his tariff agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his global duties. Foreign companies shipping goods into the United States now face stricter compliance requirements. The order targets a litany of evasion tactics: undervaluing imports, hiding information about importers of record, and routing shipments through third countries to disguise origin. Officials described shell companies and transshipment schemes as systemic problems that have crippled the agency’s ability to enforce trade policy. Trump made the revenue pitch explicit. “We’re literally going to be able to pick up tens and tens of billions of dollars just in tariff evasion alone,” he said. The numbers back him up. In 2025, the gap between what China reported exporting to the U.S. and what was declared to CBP reached a record $112 billion. That is not a rounding error. That is a hemorrhage. For Chinese exporters, the order represents a direct challenge to a business model built on opacity. The cost of circumvention just went up. Companies that relied on undervaluation or rerouting goods through Vietnam, Malaysia, or Mexico to evade duties will now face far greater scrutiny. The order explicitly calls out those third-country routing schemes. The compliance burden shifts from the importer to the entire supply chain. Singapore finds itself in an awkward position. As one of the 60 economies targeted in the proposed forced-labor tariffs, it could face a 12.5 percent levy. The city-state’s role as a transshipment hub makes it vulnerable to accusations of serving as a conduit for Chinese goods. Even if Singaporean authorities enforce their own rules, the new U.S. customs regime will demand far more documentation on origin and labor practices. A casual reader might miss the deeper implication: the order does not just punish evasion. It forces a reckoning with supply chain transparency that many multinationals have avoided for years. Companies that cannot prove where their inputs came from or how they were produced will find their goods stuck at the border. The days of plausible deniability are ending. The order also signals a shift in enforcement philosophy. Previously, customs focused on catching bad actors after the fact. Now the burden shifts to importers to prove compliance before goods clear. That changes the economics of evasion. The risk of seizure, fines, and reputational damage may soon outweigh the savings from cheating. Trump’s team is betting that tighter enforcement will not only raise revenue but also reshape trade flows. If Chinese exporters cannot hide behind shell companies and transshipment routes, they will have to either absorb the tariffs or relocate production. Neither option is painless. The reckoning for supply chain opacity has arrived, and it will not be resolved by a simple customs form.

Foreign companies that bring goods into the US will also face stricter compliance requirements.

For Chinese exporters, tighter US customs enforcement raises the cost of circumvention, forcing a reckoning with supply chain transparency and tariff compliance.

The development adds to a wider Greater China trade & policy story in which companies are being judged on execution, capital access, regulatory fit and the credibility of their regional expansion plans.

For business readers, the important question is whether this becomes an isolated announcement or part of a more durable operating pattern across customers, financing channels, partners and public-market expectations.