For years, many DTC brands sourcing overseas leaned on a simple workaround to get their products into the U.S.: let the foreign factory or supplier act as the Importer of Record (IOR). It kept the paperwork off the brand’s plate and let goods move under a delivered-duty-paid (DDP) arrangement without the brand ever touching a CBP form. And when tariffs escalated in 2025, many foreign suppliers offered to take on this work as IOR — our guide to foreign-supplier DDP arrangements has more on how that trend played out.)
That workaround is going away. Executive Order 14411, “Strengthening Customs Enforcement,” signed June 3, 2026, directs U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to tighten the rules on who is allowed to serve as an Importer of Record — and foreign IORs are getting hit the hardest.
If your brand has been relying on a foreign supplier, factory, or overseas entity to import on your behalf, this is the moment to check whether that arrangement will still work.
What Executive Order 14411 actually changes
Executive Order 14411 gives the Department of Homeland Security and CBP 180 days to rewrite importer eligibility rules. The order draws a sharper line between U.S. and foreign IORs, and the changes headed for foreign IORs specifically include some impactful changes:
- Informal entry goes away for foreign IORs. Consolidations valued below $2,500 that used to clear as “Type 11” informal entries will no longer be eligible if the IOR is a foreign entity.
- Tighter bonding and asset requirements. All IORs will face minimum bond coverage or tangible U.S. asset requirements, but foreign IORs face additional restrictions — including limits on using a continuous entry bond unless CBP is satisfied that revenue is protected.
- CTPAT gets tied to eligibility. Foreign IORs that want to keep filing formal entries will generally need to be CTPAT-validated themselves, or route filings through a CTPAT-validated customs broker.
- A “good standing” requirement. CBP will define good standing based on an IOR’s (and its affiliates’) compliance history and payment of duties. Fall out of good standing, and importing stops.
- More disclosure. Anticipated import volumes, ownership, beneficial ownership, and business affiliations all become reportable.
CBP has been pretty direct about why: undervaluation, misclassification, and shell-company arrangements are named as exactly the problems this order is meant to close off. A foreign supplier acting as IOR for a brand it ships to is the kind of setup CBP is looking to unwind.
CBP has already taken its first step — here’s your window to get ahead of it
CBP isn’t waiting for the full 180-day rulemaking window to start acting. The agency published a Federal Register notice announcing “initial steps” to implement EO 14411, focused on the accuracy of the CBP Form 5106 (Importer Identity Form) — the document every IOR should have on file with their customs broker.
Here’s what CBP is actually checking, and it’s worth reading closely because it’s more specific than “keep your paperwork current”:
- Physical address. It has to be the real operating location of the Importer of Record — not a P.O. box, a freight forwarder’s address, a customs broker’s address, or a registered agent’s address.
- Direct contact info. The phone number and email on file need to be valid and belong directly to the Importer of Record, not to a third party filing on their behalf.
- Tax identifiers. The EIN, SSN, or CBP-assigned number has to match official records exactly.
The notice is blunt about the stakes: inaccurate or incomplete Form 5106 data can mean immediate voiding of the IOR number, whether that number belongs to a U.S. or foreign entity — and that can mean fines, shipment holds, and legal liability on top of the entry just getting stopped at the border. CBP said enhanced enforcement begins 30 days after publication. If your IOR number does get voided, you can reach CBP at IORProgram@cbp.dhs.gov, but reestablishing a voided number is a process — not something you want to be sorting out mid-peak-season.
The good news: this part is fully within your control. Two quick things fix most of the risk here —
- Check the ACE portal. Log into your Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) account and review your active filings. If you haven’t set one up yet, here’s how to get a CBP ACE account.
- Loop in your broker. Coordinate with your licensed customs broker to submit an updated Form 5106 if anything’s outdated.
That’s a real opportunity to get ahead of the fuller rulemaking that’s still coming — the accuracy check is live today, so it’s worth handling now rather than waiting.
What this means for brands running a foreign-supplier IOR model
This isn’t hypothetical anymore. In fact, many foreign suppliers are already notifying their U.S. merchants that they can no longer serve as the IOR. If your import model depends on a foreign supplier being your IOR, here’s what’s worth getting ahead of:
- The entry type you rely on may disappear. If your shipments have been clearing as informal entries under a foreign IOR, that path is closing.
- Your supplier’s IOR number could be voided if the Form 5106 information on file is inaccurate or stale — even if the inaccuracy has nothing to do with your specific shipments.
- Your supplier may not qualify going forward. Between bonding requirements, CTPAT validation, and good-standing rules, plenty of foreign entities currently acting as IOR won’t meet the new bar.
- You may not find out until goods are stuck at the border. IOR eligibility issues tend to surface at the worst possible time — mid-entry, mid-peak-season, with inventory already in transit.
None of this means you need to change course overnight. It just means this is a good moment to actually verify the arrangement instead of assuming it still holds — and to have a plan ready if it doesn’t.
Your next steps
- Get direct visibility into your own import data. Don’t rely solely on your broker’s or supplier’s word that everything is in order. A CBP ACE account gives you direct access to entry history, duty payments, and liquidation status. If you haven’t set one up, we covered the step-by-step process here: How to Get a CBP ACE Account.
- Confirm who is actually listed as your Importer of Record — and verify their Form 5106 is accurate and current. If a foreign supplier is your IOR, ask directly: is their Form 5106 up to date? Will they still be able to import for you in a week? A month?
- Stress-test the arrangement against the new eligibility rules. Bonding requirements, asset thresholds, and good-standing status are all moving targets right now. A supplier that qualified as IOR last year may not clear the bar CBP is building over the next several months. Worth noting: CBP’s own guidance says continuous bonds typically take one to two weeks to process, but many sureties are currently overwhelmed with requests, and it’s taking noticeably longer than that to get a continuous bond approved right now. Naturally, sureties are taking a more cautious approach and increasing diligence. If your fallback plan depends on securing a new bond, build in extra runway rather than counting on a quick turnaround.
- Have a fallback plan ready. For many brands, the practical path forward is becoming the Importer of Record themselves, or working with a U.S.-based partner that can take on that role — rather than waiting to find out mid-shipment that the current arrangement no longer works.
How Passport can help
- We can support Importer of Record solutions. Instead of routing entries through a foreign supplier that may not be the right party to serve as IOR, Passport can evaluate whether an IOR solution is available for qualifying brands as part of our In-Country Enablement service offering. • We file entries directly into ACE. As a permitted customs broker with a national permit, Passport can file formal and informal entries, manage Post Summary Corrections, and represent IORs directly with CBP.
- We help you get the fundamentals right. Product classification under the HTSUS, customs valuation strategy, origin declarations for trade preference programs, and Partner Government Agency requirements — including FDA, CPSC, and EPA considerations — all factor into whether an import program is compliant.
- We can tell you where you stand today. If you’re not sure whether your current IOR arrangement, entry type, or Form 5106 information supports your import model, our compliance team can review your setup and identify potential exposure before it becomes an enforcement issue.
If your brand relies on a foreign supplier as IOR and you want a second set of eyes on the arrangement, talk to our compliance team.
Authored by Thomas Taggart
Head of Global Trade | Passport
Thomas Taggart is a cross-border commerce leader with more than 20 years of experience in international shipping and regulatory affairs. As the Head of Global Trade, Thomas helps ecommerce brands go global by simplifying international trade, tax, and product compliance issues. Prior to Passport, he brought international shipping solutions to market through multiple roles in UPS’s product development organization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is my foreign-supplier IOR arrangement illegal now?
Not automatically. EO 14411 gives CBP 180 days from June 3, 2026 to finalize new importer eligibility rules, so the full rulebook is still being written. But CBP’s enforcement on Form 5106 accuracy is already active, and the direction for foreign IORs — tighter bonding, no informal entry, CTPAT requirements, good-standing checks — is set. An arrangement that works today can stop qualifying with little warning.
What is Form 5106, and why does it matter so much right now?
It’s the Importer Identity Form every IOR has on file with CBP, covering importer name, EIN/SSN/CBP-assigned number, address, phone, and email. CBP’s current enforcement push is specifically about the accuracy of this data — inaccurate or incomplete Form 5106 information can result in immediate voiding of an IOR number, starting 30 days after the Federal Register notice was published.
We use a DDP model with our supplier as IOR. Does that go away?
Not necessarily, but it needs to be checked. DDP itself isn’t banned — what’s changing is who is eligible to be the IOR and under what conditions. If your supplier is a foreign entity relying on informal entry, low bonding, or an out-of-date Form 5106, that specific setup is at risk even if the broader DDP relationship continues.
Why is it taking so long to get a continuous bond from our surety right now?
CBP’s own guidance puts continuous bond processing at one to two weeks, but several factors are stretching that out for a lot of importers: high volumes in CBP’s review queue (manual validation on new importer accounts or riders can add another 10-15 business days on top), extra underwriting scrutiny for newer companies or shifting import volumes, complications when an existing bond needs to be replaced or resized, and small data mismatches — like an EIN, legal name, or IOR detail that doesn’t match exactly — that stall the filing until corrected. If a new bond is part of your fallback plan, start the process early and double-check your paperwork matches CBP’s records exactly before submitting.
What’s the fastest way to check if we’re exposed?
Two things: get an ACE account so you can see your own entry history and confirm the IOR number tied to your shipments, and ask your broker or supplier directly whether their Form 5106 is current and whether they’re CTPAT-validated (or filing through a broker who is).
Should we just become our own Importer of Record?
For some brands, yes — it removes the dependency on a third party’s eligibility status entirely. For others, working with a U.S.-based IOR service (like Passport) is a faster path that avoids taking on the bonding, compliance, and filing responsibilities in-house. The right answer depends on volume, structure, and how much operational control you want.
Where can we ask CBP directly about a voided or at-risk IOR number?
CBP has set up IORProgram@cbp.dhs.gov for questions about this enforcement effort and requests to reestablish a voided IOR number. Use the subject line “Enforcing IOR Accuracy.”
Official references
- CBP: Strengthening Customs Enforcement
- The White House: Executive Order 14411 — Strengthening Customs Enforcement
- CBP Federal Register notice on CBP Form 5106 accuracy: public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2026-16911.pdf
- NCBFAA member notice: CBP Provides Notice on Accuracy of Importer of Record Data Submissions
- Related: How to Get a CBP ACE Account