U.S. Lumber Coalition Applauds White House Executive Order Strengthening the Enforcement of U.S. Customs Laws

WASHINGTON, June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Lumber Coalition applauds President Trump on the recent signing of an Executive Order strengthening the enforcement of U.S. customs laws. The EO recognizes the need to modernize and enhance the tools available to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to ensure the timely collection of duties and tariffs owed to the United States and the importance of the strong enforcement of the trade laws.

Importantly, President Trump's EO instructs the Secretary of Homeland Security to boost several requirements for importers of record, including increasing bonding requirements and calling for importers of record to maintain a minimum level of domestic assets. Because Canadian-owned lumber companies generally act as the importer of record and pay all duties and tariffs, these updates will improve CBP's ability to collect amounts owed to the government.

The EO also combats trade and customs fraud by instructing DHS and the Attorney General to prioritize the enforcement of the trade laws, including those related to evasion and transshipment, that are designed to protect American businesses from unfairly traded products.

"By seeking to close loopholes and toughen insufficient enforcement mechanisms, the Executive Order makes it less likely that trade cheats will evade duties and tariffs intended to protect American workers and or enter merchandise that threatens the national security interests of the United States," said Zoltan van Heyningen, Executive Director of the U.S. Lumber Coalition, adding that "President Trump's EO builds on the America First Trade Policy that guarantees that our Nation's trade and economic policies benefit American workers and manufacturers."

The USLC therefore applauds President Trump and his administration for taking these important steps towards ensuring that the Government has the tools necessary to address trade cheats and other non-compliant actors that threaten the economic well-being of American forestry-dependent communities.

About the U.S. Lumber Coalition
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The U.S. Lumber Coalition is an alliance of large and small softwood lumber producers from around the country, joined by their employees and woodland owners, working to address Canada's unfair lumber trade practices. Our goal is to serve as the voice of the American lumber community and effectively address Canada's unfair softwood lumber trade practices. The Coalition supports the full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws to allow the U.S. industry to invest and grow to its natural size without being impaired by unfairly traded imports. Continued full enforcement of the U.S. trade laws will strengthen domestic supply lines by maximizing long-term domestic production and lumber availability produced by U.S. workers to build U.S. homes. For more information, please visit the Coalition's website at www.uslumbercoalition.org.

CONTACT: Zoltan van Heyningen
[email protected] | 202-805-9133

SOURCE The U.S. Lumber Coalition