Navigating New Tariffs: Compliance Best Practices for Brokers and Importers

Tariff Turbulence in 2025: Key Developments and Industry Impact

In April 2025 alone, multiple significant trade policy shifts were introduced, inciting headlines like Time Magazine’s “Nothing is Certain but Uncertainty”. A presidential executive order announced a 10% global tariff, paused country-specific duties, and simultaneously raised tariffs on goods from China to 125%. 

These moves sent ripples through global supply chains, prompting immediate action from major importers. Porsche and Apple, for instance, rushed shipments into the U.S. ahead of the changes to avoid steep penalties. Meanwhile, logistics teams everywhere scrambled to understand what applied when, and how.

Complicating matters, not all policy announcements come with immediate clarity. While executive orders set direction, the operational reality depends on how and when U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) chooses to enforce them. This lag between policy and practice creates a grey area where supply chain professionals must make informed decisions without full visibility.

Monitoring multiple information sources is essential. Following updates from the White House, CBP, the Federal Register, and trusted trade publications provides a more complete picture. But even then, ambiguity remains. That’s part of the job now: staying informed while also getting comfortable with uncertainty.

Compliance Best Practices for Brokers and Importers

A reactive approach is no longer enough. Brokers and importers must adopt proactive strategies to stay ahead of policy shifts and compliance requirements.

1. Build a Structured Compliance Framework

• Conduct regular internal audits to ensure your documentation, procedures, and filings are up to date.
• Identify internal compliance leads who can take ownership of monitoring and responding to regulatory changes.
• Develop a response plan outlining how your team will act when new tariffs or trade policies are announced.

2. Make Monitoring a Shared Responsibility

• Subscribe to updates from CBP, USTR, and the Federal Register to stay ahead of regulatory changes.
• Assign ownership of an internal compliance tracker that captures relevant updates and outlines who needs to take action.
• Encourage regular cross-functional reviews of compliance implications across departments.

3. Improve Internal Communication and Documentation

• Create internal playbooks that outline the steps to take when a new policy goes into effect, including responsibilities by role.
• Ensure version-controlled documentation is accessible to all relevant teams.
• Promote open communication across operations, compliance, finance, and leadership to ensure swift and coordinated action.

4. Leverage Technology to Automate and Analyze

• Use compliance software that automates filing processes, flags errors, and centralizes compliance documentation.
• Implement dashboards to visualize the potential impact of tariff changes on specific shipments or customers.
• Use analytics tools to monitor trends, identify risk exposure, and simulate different trade scenarios.

5. Collaborate Across Your Ecosystem

• Engage regularly with freight forwarders, customs brokers, and legal advisors to gain outside perspective.
• Leverage your technology vendors to better understand how new features or tools can support compliance.
• Consider forming internal or external working groups to exchange best practices and stay informed.

How Magaya Helps

Magaya Customs Compliance is built to help users manage risk, adapt to regulatory changes, and maintain compliance. Key capabilities to help brokers and importers adapt to tariff updates include:

• Proactive Regulatory Updates: Keeps users current with the latest tariffs and regulations, applied automatically in Magaya Customs Compliance.
• Built-in Validation to Help Prevent Errors: The system alerts users when a filing contains errors to ensure compliance.
• One-Click Conversion of Air AMS into In-Bond filing: Converts thousands of house bills into multiple In-Bond filings instantly, saving time, reducing manual work, and preventing elevated storage fees.
• Automated Conversion of Entry Type 86 into Formal or Informal Entry: Converts thousands of house bills into multiple formal or informal entries automatically, particularly useful for shipments that no longer qualify for de minimis exemptions.
• Bulk Application of Section 301 & 232 Tariffs: Automatically applies Section 301 and 232 tariffs, including exclusions. It analyzes key factors like country of origin, arrival dates, General HTS codes, and USMCA qualifications and eliminates the need for operators to manually apply tariffs to each line item. This saves time and ensures accuracy, reducing the risk of compliance errors.
• Automated HTS Ordering: Streamlines HTS code sequencing in filings per CBP regulations. This feature saves time by automating the sorting of HTS codes in line items with multiple duties or exclusions, reducing manual work and minimizing filing errors.
• Centralized Visibility: Real-time visibility into all transactions, duties, fees, and CBP response messages in a single window.
• Time-Saving AI: Broker AI Assistant for automating data extraction from commercial invoices, recommending HTS codes, and reducing errors.

With tariff policy in flux, the stakes for customs compliance have never been higher. Importers and brokers can no longer afford to wait for certainty before taking action. Agility, preparation, and collaboration are the new hallmarks of successful trade operations.

By establishing structured processes, embracing smart technology, and leaning on trusted partners, logistics professionals can turn uncertainty into opportunity. Those who build compliance into their core operations, not as a reactive task but as a strategic capability, will be best positioned to navigate whatever comes next.

Even as regulations continue to shift, staying ahead is possible with the right people, the right processes, and the right technology in place.