U.S. Customs releases new IOR regulations: Customs clearance of Chinese goods becomes more difficult and will be implemented on January 5, 2027
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The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the interim final rules for the "Enhanced Requirements for Foreign Importers" on November 5, local time, and is scheduled to take effect on January 5, 2027. The core change of the new regulations is that the identification of a U.S. importer no longer only depends on whether it is registered in the United States, but will further examine actual control, beneficial ownership and the substance of operations in the United States.
Registering a U.S. company does not mean qualifying as a U.S. importer
According to the new regulations, U.S. importers must first be established in accordance with U.S. law and be located in the United States. They must also meet conditions such as beneficial ownership and control, or holding real estate in the United States. One path requires that at least 51% of the beneficial owners of the company be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and have control of the company. Another path involves the company directly holding a substantial amount of unencumbered real estate interests in the United States.
In addition, when verifying the identity of a company, CBP may also consider factors such as the main place of business, actual business premises in the United States, employees and income, domestic assets and capital status. This means that simply registering an LLC or having a U.S. address does not automatically equate to meeting the U.S. importer designation criteria. Many U.S. companies owned and controlled by Chinese companies or individuals may be classified as foreign importers.
Customs declaration routes for foreign importers tightened
Starting from January 5, 2027, entities identified as foreign importers can no longer submit formal or informal entry declarations on their own, unless any of the following conditions are met: the person of import record itself has been verified by the U.S. Customs-Trading Partner Anti-Terrorism Program; or a U.S. licensed customs broker who has been verified by the program is entrusted to handle the declaration.
The responsibilities of customs brokers have also increased. The new regulations require customs brokers to verify whether customers truly qualify as U.S. importers before making declarations and to save relevant supporting materials. Customs brokers that have not passed CTPAT certification will not be able to handle business for non-certified foreign importers. This change has a more direct impact on cross-border e-commerce, DDP and businesses using the third-party importer model.
The logic of review turns to "who is actually operating and who is in control"
U.S. Customs’ review of the identity of importers is shifting from “who is registered” to “who is actually operating and controlling.” For Chinese companies doing U.S. import business, a corporate entity registered in the U.S. no longer automatically equates to compliant import status. Enterprises need to sort out the ownership structure, beneficial owners, control arrangements, and assets and operating essence in the United States as soon as possible, check the CTPAT qualification of the cooperative customs broker, and reserve transition time for changing customs brokers and supplementing identity and operating information.
CBP pointed out in its impact assessment that more stringent information review may push up customs declaration service fees, and customs clearance and compliance costs may increase. It is recommended that relevant cargo owners, freight forwarders and cross-border e-commerce companies evaluate the applicability of the new regulations in advance based on their own import models to avoid centralized adjustments as January 5, 2027 approaches, which will affect customs clearance and delivery arrangements.
