MONTREAL \u2014 Enforcement on cross-border cargo has ramped up enormously under the Trump administration, costing time and money and acting as a trade deterrent, shippers say.<\/p>\n
As a tariff wall rises along the 49th parallel, transport industry insiders say freight screening and penalties have also shot up, part of a stricter approach to customs in a more protectionist United States.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a massive shift,\u201d said Breanna Leininger, who heads U.S. operations at Vancouver-based Pacific Customs Brokers.<\/p>\n
Border officials\u2019 demands for documentation on the goods she ships have gone up tenfold from several years ago, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of entries that we\u2019re seeing where customs is taking a deeper dive has hugely changed. Whereas five, three years ago we might have seen a handful of those instances in a quarter, now we see a handful of those or more a day,\u201d said Leininger, who handles 5,000 customers that send products across the border.<\/p>\n
To prove compliance with product classifications and trade agreements, importers are increasingly told to provide a longer trail of paperwork like labour and manufacturing records, with the degree of proof as well as the items tariffed seeming to change by the month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bar is constantly being moved. The type of information asked for is consistently changing,\u201d Leininger said.<\/p>\n
Statistics back up her story on stringent enforcement.<\/p>\n
U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures show that the number of audits this year is on track to grow 26 per cent from 2024.<\/p>\n
An audit is an evaluation of an importer\u2019s records to check compliance with tariff classifications, customs valuations and coverage under a free-trade pact such as the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement.<\/p>\n
In the first half of this year alone, U.S. customs authorities collected US$70.6 million from various trade penalties by late July, a 169 per cent leap from the entirety of 2024.<\/p>\n
That six-month sum is also up 53 per cent from all of 2025.<\/p>\n
The jacked-up enforcement comes as Canada and America find themselves in an escalating trade war, with fresh rounds of tariffs fired off by both sides over the past several weeks.<\/p>\n
The border holdups and extra time required to source the product records all serve to pile on expenses and, in some cases, discourage cross-border commerce.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt adds huge costs to it. You put something into a warehouse and it\u2019s thousands of dollars,\u201d said Alan Dewar, executive vice-president at Winnipeg-based customs brokerage GHY.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ABEQ7I5NTHFLAWO27GYGINNUB4.jpg\")
Trucks stop near the Peace Bridge U.S.-Canada border crossing, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura) Trucks stop near the Peace Bridge U.S.-Canada border crossing, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo\/Yuki Iwamura) <\/p>\n
\u201cThe drivers, they\u2019re stuck for a weekend, overnight \u2014 that adds to costs. There\u2019s spoilage that could exist. There\u2019s service charges that exist if you don\u2019t get goods to a specific spot based on the time you guaranteed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Added Leininger: \u201cMany have been able to navigate it, but some give up as well because it feels just too enormously challenging.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it \u201ccontinually assesses and adjusts its trade enforcement posture\u201d based on risk, trade trends and statutory requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cImporters are responsible for exercising reasonable care and providing complete and accurate information to CBP,\u201d said spokesperson Trish Driscoll in an email.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Christopher Reynolds, The Canadian Press<\/p>\n
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
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