Automated Clearing House
Changes to Tariffs and Duties
With the recent change of US leadership, there is much uncertainty around tariffs and duties on imports into the country. PMK is committed to keeping all our customers, vendors and suppliers up to date as decisions and adjustments are made.
PMK is your eyes and ears on what changes are coming, the implications of such changes, and how you and we can best prepare for them.
The team will be working together to stay informed and to anticipate challenges, connecting with our customers that may be affected.
What you can to today:
All importers are strongly advised to establish accounts for direct payment with Customs Border Protection (CBP). As tariff adjustments are made, direct payment will give you confidence that your payment will be received by the right processor, for the right amount, and at the right time in the transaction.
What you can do in the near future:
- Verify US HTS numbers for accurate accounting of duty rates, taking advantage of any opportunities for lower rates.
- Review product design to take advantage of different HTS classifications that have lower duty rates.
- Contact us in advance of booking or sending shipments affected by the new tariffs so we review compliance requirements and reduce risk of holds and delays.
- Review opportunities to source essential components or materials from countries not affected by increased tariffs and/or protected by different trade agreements.
- Examine the regulatory requirements to avoid future issues.
- Make decisions with the understanding that what is protected today may not be protected tomorrow. The precarious nature of this situation may require careful consideration before making big time and money investment in changes
What you can do over the longer-term:
- Review your imports sales journey to determine if early shipments can take advantage of no tariff trips between the manufacturer and those in the middle of the supply chain. Only the trip over the border would have duties applied, saving on costs along the way. Often referred to as the First Sale Strategy, this is best done with the help of a compliance expert.
- Conduct a valuation methodology to identify opportunities for lowering the declared value of products, applying allowable deductions, and lowering tariffs.
- Decrease anti-dumping and countervailing duties through administrative reviews, new shipper reviews, or scope rulings to reflect current market conditions.
- Explore the use of Foreign Trade Zones. Bonded warehouses, Temporary Import Bonds, in-bond movements or drawback programs to defer duty payments while you’re recovering costs.
- Advocate with your government representatives to reinstate a comprehensive exclusion process.
Setting up direct payment to the CBP
All importers are strongly advised to establish accounts for direct payment with Customs Border Protection (CBP). As tariff adjustments are made, direct payment will give you confidence that your payment will be received by the right processor, for the right amount, and at the right time in the transaction.
The Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) has been adopted by CBP and made available for companies importing into the US. The program allows importers to pay duties to US Customs electronically.
There are good reasons to set up ACH today:
- Reducing administrative processing time and costs. Direct payments keep your shipments moving by removing delays caused by your internal accounting services, courier or mail services, and/or your broker as a third-party payor.
- Direct payments are more secure. So much better than paper transactions, there is little to no chance of fraud, and paying direct eliminates the risk of lost or stolen checks.
- No fines or delays for late payments. With adequate funds in your bank account, ACH Direct eliminates shipment delays and/or fines caused by late payments.
- Greater alignment to your business practices. Through your own bank statements, you have better visibility on the duties paid.
- Flexibility in payment options. CBP offers two options to importers: ACH Debit or ACH Credit.
- You can arrange for longer payment terms than is typical with your Customs Broker. For example, in combination with Periodic Monthly Statements, duty payments can be batched and paid monthly on the 15th business day of the subsequent month – helping you manage your cash flow.
For all the good reasons above – speed, accuracy, traceability, security, reliability, flexibility – making direct electronic payments is the way of the future… and may soon be required.
Note: For importers who do not have ACH set up, Customs Brokers will monitor credit limits and may require payment in advance of shipment release which could result in processing delays.
Next steps
- Check for Bond Sufficiency.
- Review the Instructions posted in our Resources section; complete the ACH Debit Application through the Department of Homeland Security (US CBP) CBP Form 400 and submit via email to ac*********@cb*.gov
- Let your PMK account representative know you’ve applied.
- Once you receive the emailed CBP Processing Unique Number (PUN) share with PMK and store it securely.
All other aspects of the process between you and PMK remains the same – it’s just the payment mechanism that changes.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your account representative.
