US Customs and Border Protection stepped up trade enforcement significantly during fiscal year 2025, according to newly released data.
The agency carried out 465 audits over the period, up from 417 the year before — an increase of 11.5 percent. The financial return from those reviews rose even faster, with audit collections climbing to US$235.5 million from US$117.7 million in FY2024.
Penalty activity also increased. CBP issued 2,432 trade penalties, up 10.3 percent from 2,204 the previous year. More striking still was the jump in liquidated damages cases, which soared from 22,399 to 53,052, a rise of 136.8 percent. Collections from penalties and liquidated damages grew from US$26.3 million to US$46.0 million, up 74.9 percent.
Trade seizures moved higher as well, reaching 57,360 compared with 48,444 in the previous year, an 18.4 percent increase. Intellectual property rights enforcement remained a major contributor, with IPR seizures rising from 20,516 to 25,079. The estimated retail value of seized counterfeit goods also increased sharply, from US$5.5 billion to US$7.4 billion.
Import safety enforcement showed similar momentum. CBP reported 9,166 such seizures worth US$137.4 million, compared with 6,888 seizures valued at US$60.6 million a year earlier.
Forced labour enforcement told a more mixed story. The number of detained shipments increased strongly, rising from 4,850 to 7,325, but the declared value of those goods dropped sharply from US$1.75 billion to US$164.5 million.
Overall, the figures suggest a clear escalation in enforcement activity under the Trump administration, with both case volume and financial recovery moving higher.
