Members of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee are urging CBP to provide more clarity on how to comply with Section 232 tariffs, as well as suggesting that CBP enable importers to use publicly available metal commodity pricing for valuation purposes, according to a list of recommendations that the committee is expected to vote on during its quarterly meeting on Jan. 14.

Despite continued aggressive rhetoric around trade policy, tariff levels heading into 2026 are likely to stabilize as the Trump administration pivots to affordability issues, according to Flexport executives speaking during a Jan. 8 webinar on tariff trends.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act (Haiti HELP) are scheduled to get floor votes next week through the suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Both trade preferences expired Oct. 1.

As CBP shifts its focus from trade facilitation and trade enforcement, conducting reasonable care is no longer enough, and importers must be prepared to do much more, according to the lead analytical content manager for risk management provider Sayari.

A memorandum of understanding may serve as a bona fide order if an instrument was imported under the Florence Agreement, CBP said in a recent ruling that overturned a previous CBP decision.

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A prominent political risk advisory firm says that peak tariff disruption is over, and that 2026 will bring some tariff reductions, but also continued uncertainty in several trade areas.

An importer bears the burden of providing a "complete paper trail" if that importer wants to show that the transactions of its middleman vendors and corresponding factory sellers were bona fide sales upon which transaction value may be based, CBP's Apparel, Footwear and Textiles Center said in a recent ruling, HQ H337689.

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The 25% tariffs on upholstered furniture, and wooden cabinets and vanities will continue throughout 2026, instead of increasing to 30% for furniture and 50% for cabinets and vanities, as initially indicated in September (see 2509300017).