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Customs

U.S. Customs and Border Protection compliance, HTS classification, entry procedures, broker relationships, and importer of record responsibilities

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7 min read

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.

Mike Thrift

tariffscustomssmall-business
9 min read

Customs Broker and Freight Forwarder Bookkeeping: Duty Trust Funds, Drawback Recordkeeping, and Why an Import Duty Isn't Your Expense

Under 19 CFR 111.29, customs brokers must book client duty payments as liabilities, remit funds to CBP within five working days, and furnish a written accounting statement within 60 calendar days — a discipline that also protects duty drawback claims, which can recover up to 99% of duties paid on later-exported goods.

Mike Thrift

accountingbookkeepingcompliance
13 min read

Wine and Spirits Importer Bookkeeping: TTB Bonded Inventory, CBMA Refunds, Currency Hedging, and Depletion KPIs

How wine and spirits importers and beverage distributors build defensible books—segregating bonded vs. tax-paid inventory, accruing CBMA excise tax refunds under ASC 450, remeasuring foreign-currency payables under ASC 830, reconciling TTB Form 5000.24 to the general ledger, and tracking the cases-per-rep, depletion rate, and gross-profit-per-case KPIs the industry actually lives by.

Mike Thrift

bookkeepinginventorymulti-currency
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