 Compliance Shortcuts Can be Costly for Importers |
Source |
American Shipper |
Post Date |
04/04/2025 |
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Importers may be looking for ways to lower costs and take shortcuts in today? environment of tariff hikes, increasing costs, and supply chain snarls, but doing so in the area of trade compliance could have a devastating impact.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection? efforts to enforce trade laws and regulations have always included a focus on what the agency calls its priority trade initiatives. These include antidumping and countervailing duties, trade agreements, intellectual property rights, import safety, agriculture, textiles and apparel, and revenue, including the collection of tens of billions of dollars?worth of tariffs imposed under different statutory authorities. Today, CBP? enforcement efforts also ext to the prohibition on imports of goods made with forced labor, sanctions against Russia and Belarus, and other measures.
These efforts are having a noticeable impact on importers. Between fiscal years 2020 and 2024 CBP collected 163.8 percent more from importer audits, 79.9 percent more in recoveries due to entry summary reviews, and 377.9 percent more from import safety seizures. CBP also saw increases in the number of trade penalties issued (8.3 percent) and liquidated damages imposed (18.3 percent).
Importers should therefore be taking steps to (1) identify the types of risk they face, which can include everything from the type of product, to the country of origin and manufacturer, to the nature of the sales transaction, and (2) manage those risks by meeting CBP? reasonable care standards, which can include consulting a customs expert, establishing effective internal controls, and conducting proactive compliance reviews.
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