Foreign importer of record: what CBP's November 6 rule changes for Canadian sellers

On November 6, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection published an interim final rule, CBP Dec. 26-19, that writes into regulation who may act as a U.S. importer of record. It takes effect January 5, 2027. A company organized under Canadian law does not meet the U.S.-organization requirement and is a foreign importer of record under this rule. A separate entity organized and located in the United States must also satisfy either the beneficial-owner and control test or the direct U.S. real-property test to qualify as a U.S. importer of record. A U.S. mailing address alone is not enough. No duty rate changes with this rule: it decides who is allowed to make the entry, not what the entry costs.

Who will count as a U.S. importer of record from January 5, 2027?

The rule adds a new part 110 to title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Section 110.2 sets two routes. An individual qualifies if they are a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. An entity qualifies only if all of the following are true^[1]:

Ownership or control of at least 25% of the ownership interests is one route to being a beneficial owner; substantial control is another. It is not the 51% qualification threshold: the 51% test is applied to the beneficial owners so identified, and those owners must also control the entity.

Two details matter in practice. “At all times” is not a test you pass on the day of entry and lose later; and the regulation sets no dollar figure for “a significant amount” of U.S. real property. Section 110.2(b) instead lists what CBP may weigh when it verifies an entity: where its principal place of business is, whether it has a physical presence where substantial business is conducted, whether it holds sufficient unencumbered physical domestic assets as defined in section 110.1, whether it directly owns significant unencumbered U.S. real property, whether its gross sales generally exceed its cost of goods sold and it is structured to generate its own profit, and whether it is sufficiently capitalized.

Section 110.3 then closes the loop: an importer of record that does not meet section 110.2 is a foreign importer of record.

If you do not qualify, what can you still do?

New section 141.21 restricts entry for consumption by a foreign IOR to two routes^[1]. The restriction covers merchandise for which a formal entry is required, and informal entries that must be filed on CBP Form 3461 or 7501 — operationally, informal entry types 11, 12 and 13:

1. You are CTPAT-validated. A foreign IOR validated through the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, with the right to make entry, may enter merchandise for consumption itself or hire a licensed customs broker to make the entry. A CTPAT-validated foreign IOR may use a broker that is not CTPAT-validated.
2. You designate a CTPAT-validated broker. A foreign IOR that is not CTPAT-validated must designate a licensed customs broker that is CTPAT-validated to make the entry or to act as the importer of record. If the principal on the power of attorney is not the owner or purchaser of the merchandise, the designated broker must act as the importer of record.

CTPAT is open to non-resident Canadian importers, so the first route is not closed to a Canadian company — but validation is a program status, not a form you file on the morning of a shipment^[1][4]. A broker's CTPAT validation is the broker's own: using a CTPAT-validated broker does not confer CTPAT benefits on the foreign IOR or on the principal on the power of attorney^[1]. The second route has a consequence worth reading twice: when a broker acts as the importer of record on a power of attorney, the broker still needs a valid power of attorney from the principal, and revised section 141.46 says so expressly.

What your broker will have to verify

The rule also rewrites the broker's diligence duty. Under new section 111.29(a)(2), a broker must verify that the client meets the section 110.2 requirements before making the declaration required by section 141.22, and must request and review the client's records to do it — proof of citizenship or lawful permanent residence, corporate charters, financial statements and records, purchase receipts or documents of title are the examples CBP gives^[1]. Those verification records must be kept for five years from the date of the verification, under the amended section 111.23(b). If the review shows that the client is not a U.S. IOR, the broker must stop filing entries for that client unless the broker is CTPAT-validated.

Section 141.22 puts the declaration itself on the entry and the entry summary. A U.S. IOR must declare its qualification at both points. Separately, where a party that meets section 110.2 designates a broker that is not CTPAT-validated to make entry as the importer of record, section 141.22(a)(2) requires that broker to identify the principal on the power of attorney and declare that the principal would meet the U.S. IOR test; the principal must have a CBP Form 5106 on file with CBP. That paragraph does not apply to every broker-client relationship, and a foreign IOR that is not CTPAT-validated cannot use a non-CTPAT broker at all. CBP recommends collecting this information when obtaining the power of attorney so the broker has sufficient time to verify it before entry.

Two enforcement consequences follow. CBP may impose a live entry requirement, and may discontinue immediate delivery privileges, where an importer — or a principal on a power of attorney where the broker acts as the importer of record — inaccurately declares U.S. IOR qualification (sections 142.13(a)(5) and 142.25(a)(5)). And Appendix B to part 171 will give CBP discretion, where a broker commits a section 1592 violation, to pursue a penalty under section 1592 or any other enforcement action available in law, including the remedies under section 1641^[1]. Previously, a negligent or grossly negligent broker that did not share in the benefits of the violation could be pursued only under section 1641; that limitation is gone. The exposure under section 1592 turns on the culpability level CBP establishes.

Which dates matter?

• January 5, 2027 — the rule takes effect, and comments close the same day (docket USCBP-2026-1387).
• Before January 5, 2027 — brokers seeking to request delayed compliance with the section 111.29 verification duty. Brokers under CTPAT removal, with CBP Form 5106 filing privileges revoked, listed on the SAM exclusions list, with a suspended entry filer code, or facing licence revocation proceedings are not eligible.
• May 6, 2027 — full broker compliance expected under the rule, including for brokers whose delay request was approved.

What did not change

No duty rate, HTSUS line or Section 232 or Section 338 measure is amended by this rule, and nothing in it alters Canada's surtax on U.S. goods under the United States Surtax Order (2026). It is a rule about the identity of the importer of record and the broker's file.

One part of the underlying executive order was deliberately left out. Executive Order 14411 directs CBP to prohibit foreign IORs from filing informal entry. CBP has not imposed that outright prohibition in this rule. The rule does apply the CTPAT condition in section 141.21 to informal entries that must be filed on CBP Form 3461 or 7501 — operationally, entry types 11, 12 and 13. CBP says it will monitor informal entries for consumption filed by CTPAT-validated foreign IORs and by CTPAT-validated brokers on their behalf, and may prohibit informal entry by a foreign IOR, or by a broker acting for one, if monitoring shows the current approach is insufficient. It invites comment on that alternative^[1]. For covered informal entries, including types 11, 12 and 13, the CTPAT condition is scheduled to apply from January 5, 2027.

Also this week, on the Canadian side

CBSA's Customs Notice 25-19, which administers the United States Surtax Remission Order (2025), shows an update dated November 9, 2026^[5]. The notice sets out which surtaxes can be remitted for goods used in Canadian manufacturing, processing and food and beverage packaging, for health care and public safety uses, and under the schedules to the Remission List maintained by Finance Canada. The published page carries no revision summary for the November 9 update, so an importer relying on a remission line should confirm the current schedule entry rather than assume last month's text still applies.

What a Canadian exporter should check before January 5

1. Name the importer of record on your U.S. entries. If it is your own company, run the section 110.2 test against the actual ownership chain, including any holding company above it.
2. Test the 51% condition as a fact, not an assumption. Identify every beneficial owner under section 110.1 — anyone who exercises substantial control, or owns or controls at least 25% of ownership interests — then test whether at least 51% of those beneficial owners are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents and control the entity. This is not a 51% shareholding test.
3. If you fail the test, choose a route now. Either pursue CTPAT validation as a non-resident Canadian importer, or use a CTPAT-validated broker — to make the entry, or to act as importer of record. The broker must act as importer of record if the principal is not the owner or purchaser.
4. Check your broker's CTPAT status in writing. For covered entries: a U.S. IOR may use a broker that is not CTPAT-validated; a foreign IOR that is not CTPAT-validated may not.
5. Keep the evidence in one file. Corporate charter and records showing U.S. organization and U.S. location, the ownership chain, proof of citizenship or permanent residence for the beneficial owners counted in the 51% test, and financial statements are what a broker will ask for.
6. Do not reprice your goods on this rule. It changes who files, not the duty. Quote against the rates in force and treat an IOR restructuring as a separate cost.

Does this change my landed cost today?

No. The rates in force this week are set by instruments already published — Section 338 as modified effective October 30, applicable Section 232 measures, and Canada's surtax under SOR/2026-186. This rule changes who may make the entry and what a broker must be able to prove about that person. This article is general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment.