How does the Federal Government shutdown impact international trade?

On Oct. 1, federal agencies shut down following Congress’s failure to pass a bill funding the 2026 fiscal year. Businesses should anticipate potential disruptions to key trade processes. The extent of the impact will vary by agency, depending on funding sources and statutory mandates.

Key trade-related agencies, including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative, have issued their respective plans for the shutdown. Below is a summary of the impact on these and other trade-related agencies, as outlined in the Contingency Plan for each agency.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)

• DHS will continue law enforcement and other activities necessary to protect human life or property, including its CBP operations, passenger and cargo inspections, and Secret Service functions.
• Non-excepted DHS programs, including most policy, administrative, research, and training activities, may be suspended.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)

• Most CBP staff are expected to continue with exempt and excepted functions, including functions required to manage U.S. imports.
• CBP will continue revenue collections, FEMA disaster payments, support by Organizational Program Coordinators for credit card programs related to exempt/excepted functions, financial operations funded by USCIS fees, and electronic travel approvals and processing required to support exempt activities.
• In past shutdowns, CBP limited its website updates and typically did not respond to inquiries.

Department of Commerce (DOC)

• DOC will continue activities necessary for presidential duties or the protection of life and property, including weather and climate services, law enforcement and fisheries management, port water level monitoring, export enforcement, and national security coordination. Key programs at USPTO, EDA, NIST, NTIA, NOAA, and FirstNet will also continue.

Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)

• BIS enforces the Export Administration Regulations and key Executive Orders to protect U.S. national security. Essential functions will continue during the shutdown, including export licensing, treaty compliance, defense allocations, national security investigations, IT security, and emergency support.

International Trade Administration (ITA)

• During the shutdown, the Department of Commerce’s ITA will scale back operations significantly. ITA runs the DOC’s antidumping and countervailing duty investigations, among other functions. Investigations under Sections 332, 337, and 201, and antidumping/countervailing duty investigations will stop during the shutdown.
• The ITA’s website notes that parties should continue filing antidumping and countervailing duty submissions through the ACCESS website, although 10-day extensions are automatically permitted during this shutdown.
• If a deadline occurs while the shutdown continues, the submission will be due within two business days of the government reopening. Rebuttal case brief deadlines will be set after reopening, and further extensions may be requested once government operations resume.
• Essential functions that will continue to operate include overseas activities, trade negotiation support, Russian uranium suspension enforcement, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework.

Office of Assistant Secretary for Export Administration (OAS-EA)

• OAS-EA will review emergency licenses, draft regulations for military operations, manage chemical weapons inspections, conduct Defense Production Act Section 705 activities, and oversee Section 232 investigations essential to U.S. national security.

Office of Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement (OAS-EE)

• OAS-EE will maintain law enforcement functions, including monitoring/export investigations, reviewing intelligence, processing emergency license applications, and supporting overseas officers.

United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO)

• Most USPTO staff will be furloughed. Minimal personnel will continue essential functions to protect intellectual property rights, including processing new patent and trademark applications, managing foreign filing licenses, maintaining IT and security systems, and supporting contested cases before the Patent and Trademark Trial and Appeal Boards.

United States Trade Representative (USTR)

• USTR will continue essential activities supporting the President’s foreign relations duties, including advising on tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), administering tariff programs, enforcing USMCA obligations, and conducting trade negotiations critical to U.S. economic and national security.

United States International Trade Commission (USITC)

• The USITC has ceased regular operations during the shutdown, however, certain USITC-maintained websites remain available.
• The HTS Search Tool and DataWeb will remain accessible during the shutdown. The USITC’s online docketing system, EDIS, will also remain available for search and document access purposes, but document filing has been disabled.
• The USITC will reschedule hearings and other meetings after operations resume.

Implications for Businesses

Because CBP operations will generally continue during a shutdown, immediate disruptions to imports should be minimal. Parties involved in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations at the DOC should continue to file most submissions, with an allowable 10-day extension; the DOC will address other deadlines and requests for extension upon reopening. Parties involved in antidumping and countervailing duty investigations at the USITC can continue to review documents through the EDIS system, but filing has been disabled during the course of the shutdown. Stakeholders involved in trade investigations, such as Section 301 and Section 232 investigations, should anticipate slower processing and limited responsiveness from the agencies during the shutdown. Businesses should closely monitor developments, review agency contingency plans, and prepare for potential impacts on trade operations and agency interactions, particularly if the shutdown lasts for an extended period of time.

Contact Clark Hill

Clark Hill will continue to monitor developments related to the Federal Government shutdown. For more information regarding this alert please contact Mark Ludwikowski (mludwikowski@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6680), Kevin Williams (kwilliams@clarkhill.com; 312-985-5907), Aristeo Lopez (alopez@clarkhill.com; 202-552-2366), Kelsey Christensen (kchristensen@clarkhill.com; 202-640-6670), Laura M. Quesada (Lquesada@clarkhill.com; 202-240-0170), or other member of Clark Hill’s International Trade Business Unit.

This publication is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or a solicitation to provide legal services. The information in this publication is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, a lawyer-client relationship. Readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional legal counsel. The views and opinions expressed herein represent those of the individual author only and are not necessarily the views of Clark Hill PLC. Although we attempt to ensure that postings on our website are complete, accurate, and up to date, we assume no responsibility for their completeness, accuracy, or timeliness