Legal Services
(US) Preferential Tariff & Free Trade Agreements
All commercial products entering the United States must be assigned a tariff classification and a corresponding duty rate. Preferential tariff/free trade agreements minimize customs duties, reduce trade barriers, and provide other trade advantages to importers and exporters. We can assist clients in obtaining the lowest duty rate legally obtainable, classifying merchandise to avoid penalties, and even challenging US Customs administratively through protests and rulings if necessary.
Case Study
The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) provides highly preferential access to the US market for thousands of products produced in, and exported by, qualifying countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Our lawyers were requested to conduct an online panel discussing how this works. A video clip from this panel can be found below.
Importers are ultimately responsible for correct tariff classification
Under U.S. Customs law, importers (and not their customs brokers or freight forwarders) are ultimately responsible for assigning the correct tariff classification for all imported items. Failure to classify correctly could result not only in overpayment of duties, but also significant monetary penalties imposed by Customs.