The implementation of -- and seemingly abrupt reprieve from -- 10% to 25% duties on goods imported from Canada and Mexico is causing whiplash among customs brokers.
And brokers should expect that breakneck speed to continue, at least for now, a former CBP official says.
"I think people have to get into the mindset of, this is reality now. It's going to be very, very chaotic. And instead of getting super frustrated with that, we have to accept it as the new norm and build in ways to deal with that," John Leonard, former deputy executive assistant commissioner at CBP's Office of Trade, told International Trade Today.
President Donald Trump followed through with his executive orders Tuesday, March 4, to place a 25% duty on goods from Canada and Mexico and a 10% duty on Canadian energy products (see 2503030007. But the hours later, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick hinted at a possible rollback for USMCA goods (see 2503040035). Yet Lutnick had just days before said the tariffs might be reduced prior to implementation, which didn't happen.
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