Confusion Continues Over Defining 'Vessel' When Considering In-Transit Tariff Exemptions
Customs brokers are still wishing for guidance from CBP on the in-transit exemptions mentioned in the April 2 executive order on reciprocal tariffs, according to remarks made during the April 17 bi-weekly ACE support call hosted by CBP.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
The executive order (see 2504020072) says goods exempt from the 10% duty include those "loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transit before 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 5, 2025, and entered for consumption or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 5, 2025."
But brokers -- and the law firms and experts advising them -- are grappling with the wording in the order, particularly when it comes to defining "vessel" and the use of "and" when describing the conditions of being loaded onto a vessel at the port of lading and in transit on the final mode of transit (see 2504160027 and 2504170037).
The use of "and" differs from language in the Feb. 5 executive order proclaiming an IEEPA tariff on China. The Feb. 5 order uses the word "or," as in, "loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading, or in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States."
As for vessels, brokers want to know whether that applies strictly to ocean vessels, which is how regulatory code defines the word "vessels," or if vessels might mean other modes of transport, such as air. Brokers also want to know whether vessels include feeder vessels, which often are used in the transport of goods from overseas.
"It would be great if CBP could address" the question about the transit exclusion for the IEEPA reciprocal tariff, including whether vessel implies all conveyances or just those that are watercraft, per regulatory code, according to a question posed by a broker inside the chat room of CBP's call.
CBP officials directed the caller and others to email the Office of Trade Remedy and Office of Trade for clarification.
Agency officials also apologized that no one from those offices was on the call because those offices are "swamped right now working on the reciprocal tariffs and everything else."
CBP didn't immediately comment.