#customs
Customs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection compliance, HTS classification, entry procedures, broker relationships, and importer of record responsibilities
Your 10% Surcharge Expired on July 24 — But Your Books Didn't: A Small Importer's Guide to the Section 122 Sunset and the $23.7 Billion in IEEPA Refunds
The 10% Section 122 surcharge expired July 24, 2026 after 150 days and was replaced by 10-12.5% Section 301 duties; CBP's CAPE portal has already paid $23.7 billion of an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA refunds — learn how to re-model landed cost per SKU, track entry-level recoveries, and avoid booking refunds as income too early.
Brazil Just Got a 50% Tariff: What Small Importers of Coffee, Beef, and Steel Need to Know About Product Exclusions
A July 30 IEEPA order adds 40% to Brazilian goods on top of the 10% reciprocal tariff for a total 50% above MFN from August 6. Orange juice, Brazil nuts, and pig iron are excluded via Annex I, while steel and aluminum are excluded from the Brazil addition because Section 232 already applies — coffee and beef are not excluded. Here's the entry-date, FTZ, and bookkeeping checklist for small importers.
$166 Billion in Tariff Refunds: Why Most Small Importers Can't Claim a Dollar of It
Only the Importer of Record can claim a share of the $166 billion in IEEPA tariff refunds through CBP's CAPE portal, which locks out most small importers who buy through suppliers, freight forwarders, or 3PLs — here is how to find your IOR, negotiate refund sharing, and book the proceeds correctly under ASC 450.
EU CBAM 2026: The Carbon Border Tax Guide for Small Steel, Aluminum, and Fertilizer Exporters
The EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism entered its definitive phase on January 1, 2026, requiring EU importers of steel, aluminum, cement, fertilizer, hydrogen, and electricity to buy CBAM certificates priced to the roughly €60-€95 per tonne EU ETS carbon rate, with costs and paperwork increasingly passed back to small US exporters who can't supply verified emissions data.
The New Customs Enforcement Executive Order: What Every Importer of Record Needs to Do Before the Rules Change
Executive Order 14411, signed June 3, 2026, requires customs bonds or domestic assets for every importer of record, bars foreign IORs from informal entries and continuous bonds, mandates beneficial-ownership disclosures, and sets a 50% minimum penalty floor — with deadlines at 45, 90, and 180 days. Here's what small importers should do before the rules take effect.
Tariffs Aren't a Phase: 5 Bookkeeping and Inventory Moves Small Importers Are Using to Protect Margins in 2026
Only 3% of small importers still lack a tariff mitigation strategy in 2026, down from 57% waiting it out in 2025. Five bookkeeping moves protect margins — capitalize duties into landed cost instead of expensing them, scenario-model your top 20% of SKUs, track the carrying cost of buffer stock, price product-by-product, and record country of origin per batch.
EUDR for Small U.S. Exporters: What the EU Deforestation Regulation Means for Coffee, Cocoa, Wood, and Rubber Shipments
The EU Deforestation Regulation now takes effect December 30, 2026 for large operators and June 30, 2027 for micro and small businesses — covering coffee, cocoa, rubber, wood, cattle, soy, and palm oil exports to the EU. Small U.S. exporters must file due diligence statements with plot-level GPS data via TRACES NT or face fines of at least 4% of EU turnover; Commission simplifications cut compliance costs an estimated 75%.
The BIS Affiliates Rule: What 50% Ownership Means for Small Exporters Before November 2026
Starting November 10, 2026, the BIS Affiliates Rule extends Entity List and MEU List restrictions to any company 50% or more owned by listed entities — aggregated across owners and traced through corporate layers. Here's what small exporters need to do about screening, Red Flag 29, and documentation before the stay ends.
USTR's Forced-Labor Section 301 Tariffs: What 10–12.5% Duties on 60 Economies Mean for Small Importers
In June 2026, USTR concluded 60 simultaneous Section 301 investigations and proposed additional tariffs of 10% (economies with an unenforced forced-labor import ban, including Canada, Mexico, and the EU) or 12.5% (the 54 economies with no ban, including China, India, and Vietnam) — duties that stack on top of existing Section 232, IEEPA, and China 301 rates. Here is who is on each list, how the surcharge compounds landed cost, and five steps small importers should take before the final rate publishes.
Etsy's DDP Mandate: What Non-US Sellers Must Change About Pricing and Bookkeeping
As of July 9, 2026, Etsy requires non-US sellers shipping to US buyers to use Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) — prepaying US tariffs and building them into the listing price — or lose Purchase Protection. This guide covers re-pricing by tariff category and why prepaid duties belong in inventory cost and COGS, not overhead.
Section 232 Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum, and Copper: A Small Business Guide
A presidential proclamation effective April 6, 2026 (updated June 8, 2026) now applies Section 232 tariffs on steel, aluminum, and copper derivatives to a product's full customs value instead of just its metal content, pushing rates as high as 50% on the entire declared value.
The Duty Drawback Program: How Importers and Exporters Recover Up to 99% of Tariffs Paid
U.S. duty drawback refunds up to 99% of import duties when goods are re-exported or destroyed, and claims can reach back five years. Here's which tariffs qualify (Section 301, the 2026 Section 122 surcharge), which don't (Section 232), and the import records CBP requires to approve a claim.