Preparing Your Company's Data for Trade Compliance Investigations

The US Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security launched the Trade Fraud Task Force (TFTF) in 2025 to investigate and prosecute misrepresentations to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). In its first year, the TFTF surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and alleged losses in pending cases. The majority of this has come from civil enforcement under the federal False Claims Act (FCA), which highlights the government’s increasing use of the FCA to enforce trade compliance.

Joshua Galuska, Heather Bates, and Mason Pan describe the current trade enforcement landscape and what this means for businesses importing goods to the US. They lay out practical steps to ensure companies’ data systems are prepared for the questions regulators are asking.