While importers may explore tariff mitigation strategies such as duty drawback, bonded warehouses, foreign-trade zones and free trade agreement eligibility, ensuring proper tariff classification should be the first and top priority, because potentially thousands of dollars in the underpayment -- or overpayment -- of duties is at stake if a good is classified incorrectly, speakers said during a panel at last week's International Compliance Professionals Association conference in Texas.
The Trump administration filed its reply brief on Oct. 30 in the Supreme Court cases on the legality of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, addressing a host of arguments relating to the text of the IEEPA, all of the statute's requirements and the history of the measure (Donald J. Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, U.S. 25-250) (Learning Resources v. Donald J. Trump, U.S. 24-1287).
As CBP ramps up enforcement and seeks to ensure that importers' claims of first sale are valid, expect the agency to pay close attention to the documents of the middleman, said tax consultants with KPMG during an Oct. 27 presentation on first sale at the International Compliance Professionals Association's annual conference in Texas.
President Donald Trump declined to put a new date on when immigration/fentanyl tariffs of 25% on Mexico would go up to 30%. Back on July 31, he said they would keep tariffs at the same rate through Oct. 29, as the two sides spoke about Mexico ending its non-tariff trade barriers.
As companies navigate the increasingly complex U.S. trade landscape, companies should "shift left" and adjust their trade compliance strategies so that potential compliance issues are caught upstream in areas such as sales, procurement and development before hitting the duty filing stage, a software developer said at the International Compliance Professionals Association conference in Grapevine, Texas, on Oct. 27.
CBP has awarded a multimillion-dollar contract to AI supply chain mapping technology firm Exiger to use its tools to detect illegal transshipment, the firm said an Oct. 28 press release. CBP also will use the software to monitor and enforce trade regulations; "deploy AI-enabled validations" of tariff classification, value and country of origin; map the flow of raw materials and sub-components through global supply chains; and create automated bills of materials for products and sub-components, the release said.
While AI technology providers often tout their ability to classify imported goods, AI might be more useful in helping importers and customs brokers document a large amount of entry data, according to Phillip Poland, who was speaking on an Oct. 22 webinar sponsored by the American Association of Exporters and Importers on AI and reasonable care.
President Donald Trump told reporters Oct. 27 that he had a good meeting with Brazil's president while he was in Malaysia. "We'll see what happens. I don't know if anything's gonna happen, but we'll see. They'd like to do a deal. We'll see. Right now they're paying, I guess, a 50% tariff. But we had a great meeting."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after two days of meeting with Chinese negotiators, he anticipates a threatened additional 100% tariff on Chinese goods won't come Nov. 1, and that the Chinese will defer their critical minerals export control licensing scheme.
President Donald Trump signed trade deals with Cambodia and Malaysia, leaving 19% tariffs on both Cambodian and Malaysian goods, with some carve-outs for tropical fruits and woods, minerals, and some goods covered by pending Section 232 investigations, such as aviation parts and chemicals used to make pharmaceuticals. The 19% tariffs layer on top of most-favored nation rates, which, in the case of apparel and shoes that dominate Cambodia's top exports, are already quite high.