Trump’s new tariffs are placing huge administrative burden on Customs agents

President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April in Washington Photo by Mark Schiefelbein Associated Press Agents are scrambling to roll out President Donald Trump s ever-shifting tariffs on imports from around the world adding a huge new workload for Customs and Demarcation Protection staff that could hurt the agency s ability to enforce laws already on the books I can t even imagine what a strain this is and how fast that they are churning through changes to how they re doing things one former CBP official recounted NOTUS requesting anonymity to discuss their past bargain enforcement experience It s enormously demanding for CBP to keep up with those updates keep their field updated and aware of all of the changes and make sure everybody is focusing on doing enforcement Trump s tariffs not only translate into numerous new administrative tasks for CBP staff former pact functionaries noted just look at all of these latest guidance notes but they may also incentivize more companies to evade duties The former CBP official and a second former CBP official both narrated NOTUS that the customs officers at ports who inspect shipments for tariff-evasion schemes are the same people scrutinizing shipments under America s forced labor ban There s only so much time in the day the first former official commented of those staff While the agency s instrument and workforce can adapt over time to the new tariffs bureaucrats right now are fully engaged in what they re doing So if you add more in one area you have to subtract in another area Trump s indecision alone is a burden for CBP He first threatened sweeping tariffs on the bulk countries before scaling those rates back to a smaller flat tariff on greater part products paired with duties on the bulk imports from China Those are in addition to new tariffs on metals from around the globe tariffs on Canadian and Mexican products and an upcoming change that would subject multiple small shipments to duties Each new initiative entails updates to CBP s systems revised guidance for companies and work to inform customs agents at ports about what enforcement should look like On Tuesday night Trump indicated there would soon be even more uncertainty saying his previously informed tariffs on China will come down substantially but it won t be zero is very high and it won t be that high he revealed He has also carved out temporary exceptions for specific products making implementation even more complicated As Trump has inquired CBP to slap new tariffs on imports from around the world the agency has also seen a sharp decline in its implementation of a forced labor ban There could be other reasons for the decline according to business experts and former representatives but because the same agents are doing both jobs of enforcement at ports there may not be enough time or hands to do it all CBP halted only about million in shipments suspected of having ties to forced labor for review in March a sharp drop from million in March according to the latest evidence This is the lowest monthly figure since the first week that a landmark forced labor ban went into effect in and it is part of a monthslong downward trend in the law s enforcement This is what experts call deprioritization a longtime GOP China strategy hand who inquired to speak anonymously to be frank reported NOTUS of the latest figures from CBP Importers are thinking about how they can sidestep the new tariffs by potentially reclassifying their products international contract and supply chains expert Owen Haacke wrote on Tuesday They say their competitors are doing it so they are going to do it too Haacke wrote on LinkedIn He explained he is telling these people not to misclassify their products and to instead overview the importers who are doing it to CBP Another method of tariff evasion is known as transshipment in which companies road goods through a false country of origin that has a lower tariff rate before sending them to the United States A CBP spokesperson didn t answer directly when solicited by NOTUS earlier this month if the new tariffs are affecting forced labor prevention The spokesperson disclosed that CBP has become a global leader in forced labor enforcement and the agency s efforts serve as a global catalyst for actions The agency stated NOTUS in a report after this story s publication that robust forced labor enforcement continues to be a top priority for CBP Forced labor is an unfair transaction practice that undermines the ability of U S companies to compete fairly in the global financial sector When requested the spokesperson didn t clarify whether any of CBP s dedicated forced labor staff at the agency s headquarters have been diverted to tariff-related work The transition hasn t been seamless A glitch in the CBP system that companies use to inform administrators of products en course in recent weeks disrupted certain imports And each time Trump changes his mind companies and customs agents are starting from scratch Trump meanwhile has high hopes for commerce negotiations with China I think we re going to live together very happily and ideally work together so I think it s going to work out very well he revealed on Tuesday This story was produced as part of a partnership between NOTUS a publication from the nonprofit nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute and NEWSWELL home of Times of San Diego Santa Barbara News-Press and Stocktonia