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CHANDLER, Ariz. -- A litany of new tariffs is creating a number of issues that brokers need to be aware of as they interact with their importer clients, including bond insufficiency and a potential increase in CBP requests for information, according to speakers on an April 8 panel at the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America’s annual conference.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2512 on April 2, containing 125 Automated Broker Interface (ABI) records and 35 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. It includes the latest adjustments on imports of automobiles and automobile parts into the U.S. (see 2504020081).
A day after President Donald Trump announced sweeping tariffs upon dozens of trading partners, including countries that the U.S. has historically had friendly relations with, customs brokers and importers have numerous questions, such as whether ACE has the ability to verify values accurately and what role drawback might have as companies respond to the tariffs.
Tariffs cause ripple effects throughout the international trade and business communities beyond just the levies on goods at the time of entry, experts said during a Zencargo "Tariff Talk" webinar on March 31.
Though China was specifically mentioned in an executive order issued late March 24 announcing 25% tariffs on countries that import Venezuelan oil, India and the EU also imported Venezuelan oil in 2024, according to a report from Reuters earlier this year.
Most business interests argued that removing goods subject to Section 301 tariffs is not administrable, would damage the economy, and, if not abandoned, needs a long lead time to prepare for, in comments to CBP.
CBP issued the following releases on commercial trade and related matters:
Groups that represent importers, carriers and ports are asking the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to rethink its remedies for Chinese dominance in shipbuilding, arguing that imposing fees on most ships bringing imports to U.S. ports will drive up prices, increase port congestion and devastate the business of smaller ports.
The Commerce Department is working to finalize an October proposed rule that will change how the agency regulates in-transit shipments that are first imported through the U.S. from foreign countries before being exported to another foreign destination (see 2410300040).