Why Your Customs Broker Can’t Save You From CBP

There’s a conversation that happens in law offices across the country, and it goes roughly the same way every time. An importer calls because CBP has sent an audit notice, or a penalty letter, or a seizure notice. They’re rattled. They’ve been working with the same customs broker for years and assumed everything was fine. And now they’re sitting across from an attorney asking how this happened — and realizing, for the first time, that “working with a broker” and “being legally protected” are two completely different things.

This gap in understanding is expensive. And in today’s enforcement climate, it’s becoming more expensive by the month.

The Trade Enforcement Environment Has Shifted

The Department of Justice has made tariff evasion a priority. CBP is running more focused assessment audits, issuing more CF-28 and CF-29 inquiries, and escalating enforcement actions at a higher rate than in previous cycles. This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural shift in how aggressively the federal government is approaching import compliance.

For businesses that import regularly, that shift means the quiet periods between enforcement actions are shorter. It means that classification decisions, country-of-origin declarations, and valuation methodologies that went unexamined for years are now being scrutinized. And it means that having a reactive compliance posture — dealing with issues only after CBP raises them — is a genuinely risky strategy.

The compliance gap most importers don’t see

Most importers have never had a legal review of their trade compliance program. They rely on their customs broker’s classification guidance, assume it’s correct, and move on. That works fine until it doesn’t. And when CBP identifies a problem, the importer is typically responsible for every entry filed under the incorrect classification — not just the ones from the past few months.

A tariff lawyer looking at your import program isn’t just checking boxes. They’re evaluating your HTS classifications against the legal standard of “reasonable care,” identifying country-of-origin risk, reviewing your valuation methodology, and surfacing issues before CBP does. That’s proactive risk management in a form a customs broker isn’t equipped to provide.

What a CBP Audit Actually Looks Like

If you haven’t been through a CBP audit, it’s worth understanding what you’re dealing with before you’re in the middle of one. CBP has two primary audit programs: the Compliance Measurement and the Focused Assessment. The Focused Assessment is the more intensive of the two — a systematic review of your import records, internal controls, and compliance procedures that can last months and result in significant duty assessments and penalties.

The stages where legal representation makes the biggest difference

Before the audit begins

The best time to work with a tariff lawyer is before CBP ever contacts you. Pre-assessment surveys and internal compliance reviews give you the opportunity to identify and correct errors before they become the subject of a government audit. Prior disclosure — voluntarily reporting compliance errors to CBP before an audit is announced — can significantly reduce penalty exposure and is only available to importers who act before CBP formally opens an investigation.

During the audit

Once the audit is underway, every document you produce and every statement you make carries legal weight. An attorney manages your response to CBP’s document requests, ensures you’re not producing more than legally required, and shapes the narrative of your compliance posture in a way that minimizes exposure. This isn’t obstruction — it’s exactly what legal counsel is for.

After the audit closes

If the audit results in duty assessments or penalty allegations, you have legal options that a broker has no standing to pursue on your behalf. Protests, petitions for mitigation, and litigation before the Court of International Trade are legal proceedings. They require attorneys. And the quality of that legal representation is one of the strongest predictors of outcome.

Country of Origin: The Issue That’s Getting More Attention

With tariffs on Chinese-origin goods running as high as 145 percent in some categories, country-of-origin declarations have never been under more scrutiny. CBP is actively investigating transshipment schemes — cases where goods produced in China are routed through third countries to obscure their true origin — and the penalties for intentional misrepresentation are severe.

But even importers acting in complete good faith can face country-of-origin disputes. When a product is substantially transformed in multiple countries before reaching the U.S., the legal analysis of where it “originates” can be genuinely complex. Getting it wrong — even accidentally — can create significant liability.

A us customs lawyer who handles country-of-origin work regularly understands both the legal standards CBP applies and the documentary evidence needed to support your declarations. That’s a different level of analysis than a broker’s classification worksheet.

Import Disputes and When Litigation Is the Right Answer

Most customs and trade matters are resolved administratively — through protest filings, petition proceedings, and negotiation with CBP. But not all of them. When CBP denies a protest or the administrative process doesn’t produce an acceptable outcome, importers have the right to litigate in the Court of International Trade (CIT).

Most law firms that hold themselves out as customs attorneys have never litigated in the CIT. It’s a specialized venue with its own procedural rules, and trial experience there is rare. When an importer’s case requires it, that experience gap matters.

The value of a firm that actually goes to court

Stein Shostak Shostak Pollack & O’Hara, LLP is one of a small number of customs law firms with a genuine litigation track record before the Court of International Trade. That track record does two things: it produces better outcomes in contested cases, and it changes how CBP engages with the firm’s clients during the administrative process. Agencies respond differently to counsel they know will litigate if necessary.

Exporters Are Not Off the Hook

Export compliance gets less attention than import compliance, but the legal exposure is just as real. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), the State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC), and CBP itself all enforce export restrictions. Violations — even technical ones — can result in penalties, loss of export privileges, and in serious cases, criminal prosecution.

An import export attorney who handles both sides of the border is positioned to advise companies on denied-party screening, export license requirements, country-of-origin issues that affect both import classification and export controls, and dual-use technology restrictions. Trade compliance doesn’t stop at the port of entry.

Proactive Counsel Is Always Cheaper Than Reactive Defense

The most consistent thing customs attorneys see is this: the importers with the most significant legal exposure are almost always the ones who waited the longest to get legal counsel involved. The cost of a compliance review is a fraction of the cost of a CBP penalty proceeding. The cost of a classification analysis is a fraction of the cost of retroactive duty bills on three years of misclassified entries.

If your business is importing or exporting goods and you’ve been relying entirely on your broker to keep you compliant, it’s worth having an attorney take a look. Not because something is definitely wrong, but because in this enforcement environment, certainty is worth paying for.