'It's a mess': Trump's tariffs 'not being collected' after major glitch hits ports
Last edited Sat Apr 12, 2025, 09:30 AM - Edit history (1)
Source: Raw Story
April 11, 2025 9:00PM ET
Trump's draconian new tariffs regime is now being delayed due to a "glitch" that has arisen at U.S. ports, CNBC reported on Friday, in the latest blow that threw even more uncertainty into how markets and international trade are functioning.
An alert sent out to shippers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection "notified users of a glitch in the system that is used to exempt freight from tariffs, including shipments from China that were already on the water at the time of this week’s whipsaw in tariffs policy, and any trade from nations now under the 90-day pause put in place by the Trump administration," reported Lori Ann LaRocco. "The alert explained that U.S. Customs discovered that the entry code for U.S. shippers to use to have their freight exempted is not working and 'the issue is being reviewed.'"
"Normally, when a U.S. importer pays for their freight, they file both the cargo release forms and their financial papers, so they can pay for their cargo. To keep the cargo moving, Customs is advising importers to file the cargo release form now, and file the financial form later, once the glitch is corrected," said the report. "For now, that means the tariffs are not being collected by the U.S. government." Shippers are expected to follow up with federal officials to pay the back tariffs once the issue is resolved, according to the report.
“It’s a mess, to simply state it,” Dewardric McNeal, managing director and senior policy analyst at Longview Global with a focus on international trade, foreign affairs and defense, told the outlet. “I don’t think it will slow down goods. But it will increase the paperwork for the U.S. companies who are suffering tariff whiplash. These companies will need to refile that at a later date. Trade will flow but at greater complexity.”
Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/trump-tariffs-2671754080/
I can't see how they could correctly reprogram their data system as fast as needed in order to handle/charge whatever rates, from what countries, on what products, since it seems to change weekly, if not daily. And since these systems are maintained via contracts, someone has to write up the task order for the contractors to make the changes (and there is probably a whole "Change Control" process that goes on), and then they have to do a quick test to see if it works (where apparently something didn't work "in time" ), and it's back to the "manual" process.
ETA - and now THIS breaking news happens this morning - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143439130
= new reply since forum marked as read
Problem solved.
