Tariffs seem to be all the rage right now. Everyone is doing it, the US, China, Canada, the EU. Will 2018 be the summer of tariffs?
It’s looking that way.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released a list of products imported from China valued at approximately $50 billion that will be subject to an additional 25% duty. The first set of products, valued at $34 billion, will be subject to these increases starting Friday, July 6 and the second set, valued at $16 billion is pending review. China has continuously stated they will respond in kind.
We wrote about the possibility of a trade war back in April, and it looks as if this may be a reality. In late June, Canada imposed $12.8 billion in steel and aluminum tariffs as a response to the US levies on the same materials. On top of this, the auto industry is scrambling at the EU’s announcement of $290 billion of tariffs on American goods if the Trump administration follows through with its plan to crack down on foreign autos.
With all of these potential increases in spend, it’s more important than ever to ensure your global supply chain is optimized and efficient. As more and more importers and exporters rush to ship items before the second set of tariffs go into effect, international shipping lanes and ports will become congested and transit times will inevitably increase.
Chances are you don’t want to see your bottom line take a 25% hit, so what can you do?
The answer is simple, find savings elsewhere. However, the execution of this can get complicated. An experienced 3PL knows the international shipping market and can offer seamless execution through ocean, air, customs brokerage and trade compliance. AFS has a team of international experts that can look for inefficiencies in your global supply chain and recommend ideal shipping lanes, confirm proper classification and help mitigate risk. Give us a call at 877-242-3383 to make sure your bottom line doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.
