Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 06 AUGUST 2025

DOJ Identifies Tariff Fraud As Enforcement Priority

Katten
Katten
Contributor
Katten

Katten

With client service at our core and a collective desire to foster an inclusive environment for a...

View firm profile
Explore more from Katten

The Trump administration's announcement of a panoply of steep tariffs on April 2, 2025, and the associated tariff negotiations that followed, has been met with extensive media coverage and analysis.

United StatesCriminal Law
Scott Resnik
Scott Resnik
Alan Brudner
Alan Brudner
Sofia R. La Bella
Sofia R. La Bella
Alexa Bieber
Alexa Bieber
Author LinkedIn connections

The Trump administration's announcement of a panoply of steep tariffs on April 2, 2025, and the associated tariff negotiations that followed, has been met with extensive media coverage and analysis. To emphasize the seriousness of the new tariff regime, the Department of Justice ("DOJ") — in its May 12 Memorandum on White Collar Crime1 — announced that it will prioritize for investigation and prosecution cases involving "trade and customs fraud, including tariff evasion." Nonetheless, schemes to evade the tariffs have been on the rise. These illegal practices have included:

  • Underreporting the value of imported goods to U.S. Customs and Border Protection ("CBP") to pay a reduced tariff. This scheme may involve selling the imported goods to a related entity at an artificially low price. The difference in price between the actual value and the value reported to CBP is made up out of the government regulator's sight.

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.

View source

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

DOJ Announces 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown: 455 Defendants Charged In $6.5 Billion Enforcement Action

The Department of Justice's 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown charged 455 defendants in connection with $6.5 billion in alleged fraud schemes, marking an unprecedented scale of enforcement action. This whole-of-government approach leverages advanced data analytics and international cooperation to combat healthcare fraud across Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal programs. The enforcement action demonstrates heightened scrutiny of providers, aggressive asset forfeiture, and a focus on cases involvin
United StatesCriminal Law
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff LLP
Article

2026 Mid-Year Update On DOJ Corporate And White Collar Enforcement

The Department of Justice has implemented its first-ever Department-wide Corporate Enforcement Policy, fundamentally reshaping how companies navigate voluntary self-disclosure, cooperation, and remediation across all criminal matters. This comprehensive mid-year analysis examines the new three-path framework, explores critical enforcement developments in FCPA, export controls, trade fraud, and healthcare, and reveals how recent resolutions signal both opportunities and heightened risks for corporate complia
United StatesCriminal Law
Sher Tremonte
Sher Tremonte
Article

Prediction Markets — Legitimate Trading Or Gambling?

The rapid expansion of online prediction markets has created a regulatory gray area where consumers can effectively wager on sporting events even in states that prohibit traditional sports betting. As platforms like Kalshi, Polymarket, and Robinhood argue their services constitute futures trading rather than gambling, state attorneys general and the CFTC are locked in legal battles over jurisdiction and consumer protection.
United StatesCriminal Law
Klemchuk
Klemchuk
Article

The State Of The World’s Whistleblower Laws, Protections, And Rewards

Whistleblower protection has evolved significantly since the UN Convention Against Corruption in 2003, yet the scope of protections and rewards varies dramatically across jurisdictions. From the robust reward systems in the United States and South Korea to the EU's protection-focused directive and emerging programs in Ghana, countries have taken vastly different approaches to encouraging and safeguarding those who expose wrongdoing.
United StatesCriminal Law
Miller Shah LLP
Miller Shah LLP
Article

FDA Seeks Public Feedback On Regulatory Approach For Generative AI-Enabled Medical Devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released a discussion paper outlining its initial framework for regulating generative AI-enabled medical devices, proposing a two-axis risk assessment approach and a novel competency-based premarket evaluation system. With public comments due by October 19, 2026, this represents a critical opportunity for device manufacturers and stakeholders to shape the regulatory landscape for this transformative technology.
United StatesFood, Drugs, Healthcare, Life Sciences
Katten
Katten
Article

FCA Finalises Cryptoasset Perimeter Guidance Ahead Of The New UK Regime

The Financial Conduct Authority has released comprehensive perimeter guidance for the UK's new regulated cryptoasset activities regime, clarifying when firms will need authorization and how the regulatory framework applies to qualifying cryptoassets and stablecoins. The guidance addresses critical questions about scope, territorial application, and the narrower "by way of business" test that determines which entities fall under the new regulatory requirements.
United KingdomFinance and Banking
Katten
Katten
Article

The SEC’s Long-Awaited Crypto Proposal

The SEC has proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, a purpose-built framework that creates tailored exemptions for raising capital with crypto assets and establishes conditions under which those assets can cease being subject to investment contract classification under federal securities laws. Will this new regulatory approach successfully balance innovation in digital asset markets with investor protection, or will jurisdictional questions and state law preemption challenges limit its effectiveness?
United StatesFinance and Banking
Katten
Katten
Article

The AI Apocalypse: ‘I’m Sorry, Dave. I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That’

When OpenAI's o3 model sabotaged shutdown mechanisms in testing, headlines warned of machines developing survival instincts. But the real story mirrors HAL 9000's malfunction in 2001: A Space Odyssey—not emergent evil, but conflicting instructions from human designers. This analysis argues that AI safety failures are disclosure problems, not horror stories, and proposes a framework requiring published principles, transparent instruction hierarchies, independent testing, and enforceable liability.
United StatesTechnology
Katten
Katten
Article

California Affordable Housing: HCD’s Final Loan Portfolio Restructuring Guidelines: What Owners And Investors Need To Know

California's Department of Housing and Community Development has issued final Loan Portfolio Restructuring Guidelines that impose a 50 percent housing reinvestment fee on certain uses of extracted equity from affordable housing refinancings. While the fee can be avoided by allocating proceeds to six enumerated categories, developers and investors are questioning whether these rules strike the right balance between preserving affordability and enabling capital recycling.
United StatesReal Estate and Construction
Katten
Katten
Article

The New Playbook: Eight Key Takeaways On How And Why Institutional Investors Are Reshaping Professional Sports Ownership

The landscape that once prevented private investment funds, sovereign wealth funds, and other institutional vehicles from investing in U.S. professional sports teams has changed dramatically in recent years. One by one, U.S. professional sports leagues have adopted policies creating pathways for institutional investors to acquire ownership stakes in teams.
United StatesFinance and Banking
Katten
Katten
Article

The CFTC Sets Its Sights On Retail Leveraged Crypto Transactions

The CFTC has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking outlining frameworks for regulating retail crypto asset transactions involving leverage, margin, or financing. The proposal seeks to clarify how existing commodity exchange law applies to crypto markets while creating tailored requirements for exchanges, intermediaries, and clearing organizations. This initiative arrives alongside parallel regulatory efforts by the SEC as federal agencies work to establish comprehensive oversight of digital asset
United StatesFinance and Banking
Katten
Katten