The term “intermediary” conjures images of being stuck in the middle, but the intermediary function that customs brokers play between Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the nation’s importers – both large and small – proves invaluable to ensuring compliant and facilitative commerce for our nation. In today’s unpredictable trade environment, this could not hold truer.

Besides performing the functions of processing customs import entries and ensuring their importer clients are compliant with myriad CBP rules and regulations, customs brokers educate their import clients on a regular basis about what’s happening in the arena of cross-border trade and how best to manage their international business.

In late January 2025, when President Trump started announcing what would quickly become a flurry of IEEPA and Section 232 tariffs, U.S. importers were understandably confused on how best to navigate these tariffs within their import operations. Importers immediately contacted their customs brokers for details about what to do. By April 2025, a survey of more than 1,400 customs broker member companies confirmed that 90% of their time has been spent on educating their import clients about tariff management.

While simultaneously providing this increased education to its client base, customs brokers are dealing with the surge in required data reporting as the tariffs have resulted in significant customs entry line increases which subsequently decreased the output efficiencies of the entry preparation process. 

Read more 

President's Monthly Message