What the Border Asks: Tariffs, Origin, Forced Labour, and the Trade Compliance Layer Under Every Import
By Casey Scott McKay ·
Every imported product carries a compliance layer that most intellectual property lawyers never see and that can stop a shipment more effectively than any injunction. This article explains what customs actually asks — classification, valuation, origin, marking, and admissibility — and why each answer is a legal determination rather than a logistics detail. It covers the forced labour regime and its rebuttable presumption, which reversed the ordinary burden of proof at the border. It works through tariff engineering, first sale valuation, and the origin rules that determine duty rates and label claims. It then maps where trade compliance and intellectual property enforcement meet: recordation, exclusion orders, grey market controls, and Section 337. It closes with the record-keeping obligations and penalty exposure that follow every entry.
IP and Technology > General IP | Article | Published 9 March 2026 - Updated 10 June 2026 | Casey Scott McKay - marksy.us
The most effective injunction is a customs hold
An intellectual property lawyer spends a career learning how to stop goods. Preliminary injunctions, requiring a showing of likely success, irreparable harm, balance of hardships, and public interest, argued over weeks. Section 337 investigations at the International Trade Commission, faster but still measured in months. Seizure orders under 15 U.S.C. § 1116(d), extraordinary and rare.
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