Avoiding Costly Penalties: What U.S. Importers Need to Know About EAPA

What Is the Enforce and Protect Act (EAPA)?

The Enforce and Protect Act of 2015 was enacted as part of the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act (TFTEA) and became effective in August 2016, this law gives US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authority to investigate and stop evasion of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) on imported goods.

Its purpose is to protect US industries and ensure fair trade by preventing importers from evading AD/CVD duties, which are imposed to offset unfair foreign pricing or subsidies.

Anyone can submit a complaint if they have information for an anti-dumping/countervailing duty allegation. There is an allegation that can come from the general public, these allegations would not be from “interested parties”. An interested party is an entity which is within the domestic industry, a labor union representing the domestic industry, trade associations representing domestic producers or importers/exports.

Without a strong compliance program, some US companies may be figurative ducks waiting for the CBP EAPA “duck hunters” to hunt them down after they’ve received allegations.

Why EAPA Matters to Importers

Here at Export Solutions Inc, we want your business to be informed. Check out this previous blog reporting reputable names in the Automative, Textile & Metal’s industries. This blog and today’s focus on more recent examples of company’s who were accused and received penalties in duties owed from evading.

The purpose of this blog is a reminder of the urgency to have a strong compliance program focusing on understanding who your suppliers are, where your product originates and how to prove that.

Common Misconceptions We Hear from U.S. Importers

Many importers believe they are insulated from AD/CVD exposure. Common narratives include:

• Our company doesn’t have AD/CVD products. We disclaim every time we’re asked.
• Our broker does that. But who is the Importer of Record (IOR)? Pushing things over to the broker provides the chance to start asking yourself whether your compliance program is strong. The broker will likely not face penalties in an AD/CVD case.
• Our product doesn’t have a country of origin of China because it ships through Europe before arriving to the US.
• We have the subassembly made in China, but then a retrofit occurs in Germany, therefore the COO is Germany. (Does this retrofit qualify for a tariff shift? Have you challenged this? A valid tariff shift can change the country of origin only if it meets the specific rule of origin applicable to that product.)

These assumptions can create significant compliance risk if not properly validated and documented.

Recent EAPA Enforcement Actions and Penalties

In August 2025, CBP was successful in EAPA investigations and was able to find more than $400M in unpaid duties. “EAPA exposes companies that dodge antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) — trade measures that prevent foreign producers from flooding U.S. markets with goods sold below fair value or propped up by unfair subsidies. Companies often try and circumnavigate duties by using illegal transshipment, routing goods through third countries to disguise origin and sidestep duties.”

The penalties for violating EAPA can be steep.

In March 2025, the Office of Public Affairs reported a settlement of $8.1M against Evolutions Flooring Inc and its owners. “The settlement resolves allegations that Evolutions, at the direction of Lin and Qian, knowingly and improperly evaded customs duties, including antidumping, countervailing, and Section 301 duties, on multilayered wood flooring manufactured in the PRC that Evolutions imported between Sept. 1, 2019 and July 31, 2022. Among other things, the United States alleged that Evolutions caused false information to be submitted to CBP regarding the identity of the manufacturers and country of origin of the imported multilayered wood flooring.”

If $8.1M doesn’t catch your attention, perhaps $26M will…

Another FCA (False Claims Act) judgement against the Sigma Corp for evading antidumping duties was made in June 2025 for imported pipe fittings. In this case, filed by Island Industries against Sigma Corp, “Island Industries, Inc., filed suit under the False Claims Act, alleging that Sigma made two types of false statements on customs forms to evade antidumping duties that applied to welded outlets. Island alleged that Sigma (1) declared that the products it was importing were not subject to antidumping duties and (2) described the products as steel couplings even though it marketed them to customers as welded outlets.” During this appeal, Sigma Corp argued that it lacked an “obligation to pay” as defined by the FCA. The jury ultimately ruled that Sigma knowingly misrepresented its products as steel couplings to avoid antidumping duties.

A Compliance Challenge for Importers

Ask yourself:

• Do you have the evidence to show tariff shifts of your product if additional work is being done in another country?
  • How does a tariff shift work and does your product qualify?
• Have you classified your product correctly or is there a more accurate classification that may be used?
  • Can you back up that your product does not fall under AD/CVD?
• Does your product have a fair market value or has the product been undervalued?
• Do you even know whether the product and the country you’re importing from falls under the AD/CVD purview?

You can review AD/CVD scope information through the International Trade Administration here:
https://legacy.trade.gov/enforcement/operations/scope/index.asp

How Export Solutions Inc. Can Help

These public settlements are just a few examples US importers can learn from to avoid DOJ cases and investigations by CBP. Export Solutions Inc can help your organization clarify whether you’re headed into a compliance “duck hunt”.

The Office of Public Affairs is regularly announcing Press Releases as more instances occur.

If you would like assistance in reviewing your import entries to ensure tariffs were assessed correctly, we invite you to schedule a no-charge consultation with one of our trade compliance experts.