Insights · October 27, 2026

Selling to U.S. Consumers After Executive Order 14411: Options for European Companies

Executive Order 14411, “Strengthening Customs Enforcement” (signed June 3, 2026; 91 Fed. Reg. 35125) (the “Order”), directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to take steps within 180 days, that is, by November 30, 2026, to revise importer of record (IOR) eligibility rules, and to act “promptly” on restrictions specific to foreign IORs. The Order does not prohibit European companies from reaching U.S. consumers through marketplaces, retailers, platforms, and logistics providers. It will, however, make the European company’s own role as IOR considerably more demanding and, for informal entries, unavailable, so that most business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) models will likely need to be reorganized around who enters the goods, and when.

The New Framework

Under Section 10(a), an entity is a “U.S. IOR” if it is organized under U.S. law, located in the United States, and at all times controlled by beneficial owners who are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents, or if it owns a significant amount of U.S. real property; every other importer is a “foreign IOR.” Section 10(b), however, treats the absence of any one criterion, including real property, as foreign status, a tension the Secretary’s guidance will need to resolve. On either reading, a U.S. subsidiary wholly owned by a European parent would very likely be a foreign IOR.

Foreign IORs are to be barred from informal entry (generally shipments valued at $2,500 or less), may not rely on a continuous bond unless U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) permits it, and must be validated in C-TPAT, where eligible, or file through a C-TPAT-validated licensed customs broker. All IORs face minimum domestic asset or bonding levels, increased bond coverage, ownership and affiliation disclosures, and a “good standing” requirement.

Implementation is under way in several pieces. Since September 18, 2026, CBP’s stated practice is to void immediately any importer number whose CBP Form 5106 information is inaccurate or incomplete. On September 2, 2026, CBP published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking on heightened import disclosures under Section 3 of the Order, including foreign export documentation, with comments due December 1, 2026. On October 8, 2026, CBP proposed requiring a bond for every informal entry (91 Fed. Reg. 64532; comments due December 7, 2026).

Bulk Formal Entry into U.S. Inventory

The European company remains the IOR but replaces parcel-level shipments with consolidated formal entries into a U.S. third-party logistics or marketplace fulfillment warehouse, filed through a C-TPAT-validated broker under single transaction bonds unless CBP permits a continuous bond. Consumer orders then ship domestically with no further customs event. This preserves control over pricing, classification, and valuation at the cost of bond collateral and U.S. inventory, and would likely be the most practical near-term path for brands with predictable volumes.

Sale to a Qualifying U.S. Buyer

The European company sells business-to-business to a U.S. retailer, distributor, or merchant-of-record platform that itself qualifies as a U.S. IOR, takes title before importation, and enters the goods. Customs value would generally be based on the price of that sale. Diligence should confirm the counterparty’s U.S. IOR status and good standing, and that the contract genuinely transfers title and risk, because the Order directs that the definitional guidance prioritize preventing shell companies, sham transactions, and artificial structuring.

U.S. Agent and Consignment Structures

CBP Directive 3530-002A treats a selling agent or a person importing on consignment as an “owner or purchaser” with the right to make entry, so a qualifying U.S. agent may act as IOR while the European company retains title until the consumer sale. Because there would be no sale for exportation to the United States, value would likely fall to an alternative method under 19 U.S.C. § 1401a, and the agent’s commercial substance, compensation, and own IOR status would each require careful documentation.

U.S. Subsidiary Qualifying as a U.S. IOR

A European-owned subsidiary could qualify, if at all, only by owning significant U.S. real property under the more favorable reading of Section 10(a), a threshold not yet defined, or by restructuring so that U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents hold controlling beneficial ownership, and it should expect to demonstrate a principal place of business, physical presence, and sufficient tangible assets in the United States. Tax and transfer pricing consequences should be assessed alongside the customs analysis.

Recommended Next Steps

Our recommendation would be that European companies (1) map each U.S. sales channel to identify the IOR and any reliance on informal entry; (2) confirm the accuracy of the CBP Form 5106 on file; (3) confirm in writing whether their customs broker is C-TPAT-validated; (4) review bond sufficiency; and (5) review marketplace, platform, and distribution agreements for IOR designation, Incoterms, duty allocation, and indemnities. The Order’s timelines bind the agency rather than importers, and current rules, including 19 C.F.R. § 141.18 for nonresident corporations, continue to govern until implementing regulations take effect. Restructuring would best be completed before, rather than in response to, final rules.

For further information, please contact Matthew A. Bock, Esq., at mbock@bocktradelaw.com or +1 781 927 5470.

This article is general information as of October 27, 2026, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.