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Friday, June 20, 2025

Trump Can Use Private Whistleblower Lawsuits for Tariff Evasion - Bloomberg Law News

The Trump administration may use a variety of enforcement tools to ensure compliance with tariffs, including the False Claims Act. Companies should ensure all their customs declarations are accurate, they aren’t participating in any unlawful attempts to evade duties, and their compliance regimes ensure employees or agents take steps to avoid making knowingly false statements about imports.

Under the FCA, private whistleblowers, not just government attorneys or law enforcement agents, can bring civil lawsuits to report fraudulent customs claims. If the government intervenes and recovers money, a whistleblower is entitled to 15% to 25% of the proceeds of the case.

Just as a passenger on an airplane self-reports goods on a customs form when entering the US, importers are responsible for self-reporting goods entering the country in accordance with US trade laws. That means anyone importing a good into the US must accurately report key information that determines what tariff rate applies and how much they owe the government.

The importer must declare the good’s country of origin, its proper classification under the Harmonized Tariff Schedule, and the total volume being imported, even through multiple shipments. If an importer knowingly reports one of those categories of information and that results in underpaying the...



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