EPA Announces Broader Investigations Into Illegal Pesticides

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on December 23, 2025, that under the Trump Administration, EPA “is dramatically expanding its imports investigative capacity and enforcement scope beyond the limited efforts of previous years, launching broader investigations that target illegal pesticide and chemical smuggling operations across multiple sectors to safeguard communities, agricultural integrity, and national security.” According to EPA, this increased enforcement blocked more than 200,000 pounds of illegal pesticide imports in 2025. On December 19, 2025, Jeffrey Hall, newly confirmed Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA), and his Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator Craig Pritzlaff traveled to southern California. Hall met with Los Angeles/Long Beach Seaport Port Director Africa R. Bell and other officials from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in a visit that “reaffirmed EPA’s commitment to protecting America while furthering cooperative federalism and cross-agency partnerships.” EPA and CBP officials discussed how to work together, including efforts to advance further sharing of information critical to inspection, enforcement, and coordination to hold violators accountable.

According to EPA, “Chinese manufacturers and criminal cartels have increasingly exploited regulatory and enforcement gaps to flood American markets with dangerous chemicals, not only poisoning communities but also undermining farmers and businesses who follow federal law.” EPA states that its “revitalized, comprehensive imports enforcement directly supports the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) strategy by prioritizing the removal of harmful toxins from American communities and food systems.”