2024 Trade Dynamics:
Key Shifts, Business Resilience, and Strategic Brokerage
Let’s take a moment to assess your current brokerage process and get a sense of how resilient your business is using the good, better, best model below.
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The impact of key events in 2024 on brokerage processes and strategic tips for resilience and optimization in an ever-changing landscape.
Three key events shaping North American trade and imports in 2024
A universal 10% tariff
10% minimum universal tariff, up from today’s 3% average
$300 billion yearly collective tax increase
Nearshoring
%
0
3
7
12
19
24
26
29
33
of U.S. companies are already planning to nearshore
One out of three U.S. businesses are planning to replace or supplement their overseas suppliers with those that are closer, often in Mexico or Canada.
The impact:
The benefits to the U.S. include:
But these benefits also mean changes to how goods are traded, including:
Trade lanes used
Administrative burdens associated with USMCA eligibility
Required documentation
Similar business culture
Tariff-free trade
Generally harmonized regulatory policies
Geographic proximity minimizes transport costs and times, ensuring faster product delivery to customers
The CBSA Assessment and Revenue Management Initiative (CARM)
The CARM initiative is set to go live in May 2024, changing how CBSA assesses and collects duties and taxes on commercial goods imported into Canada.
With this launch, importers will need to:
Register for the CARM client portal
Delegate access to a customs broker
Obtain a surety bond
Is the average brokerage process good enough to withstand the changes these events could catalyze? What does a good brokerage process look like?
Assessing your brokerage process
None of the above choices are optional, and failure to complete any of them will mean interruptions, shipment delays, and extra expenses further down the line.
Critical consideration
What could a second term look like for Donald Trump?
Brokerage process resilience and optimization
None of the above choices are optional, and failure to complete any of them will mean interruptions, shipment delays, and extra expenses further down the line.
Critical consideration
Good
Strategic businesses should already be assessing the potential impact of these changes, how they can pivot, and how that pivot will affect brokerage processes.
Critical consideration
2024 is anticipated to usher in another year of uncertainty in global trade. Geopolitical conflicts, a U.S. election, trade wars, new tariffs, regulatory changes, the list goes on. These concerns are usually viewed in the context of risk, not process. But processes – specifically brokerage processes – are always impacted.
Failure to take these into consideration could offset a business’s landed-cost calculation and, in turn, its margins.
Critical consideration
Basic compliance:
Accurate customs documentation that ensures compliance with local and international regulations.
Why it matters:
Inaccuracies mean delays at the border and increased time in transit, leading to disappointed customers.
Communication:
The status of shipments is at your fingertips.
Why it matters:
In the wake of the pandemic, transparency is everything. Know where your goods are and what the status of your customs clearance is so there are no surprises.
Timeliness:
Documents are submitted
on time, and any customs clearance issues are
resolved quickly.
Why it matters:
Late documentation submission leads to border delays, as well as tarnished customer and carrier relations.
Better
Value-added services:
The confidence to navigate complex customs regulations and minimize costs by taking advantage of duty optimization programs.
Why it matters:
Margins are already tight, why narrow them with unnecessary duty spend? Duty recovery and strategic tariff classification means less money going to the government and more going to your business.
Technology integration:
Taking advantage of specialized customs software to automate, reduce errors, and enhance overall efficiency.
Why it matters:
For diverse and complex product lines with regulatory requirements, using software to maintain classification databases, compliance, and reduced errors can stave off unexpected financial penalties.
Dedicated support:
Having a real voice at the other end of the line for personalized assistance and guidance.
Why it matters:
When the unexpected happens, you need a partner who understands your business needs and processes to spring into action and take corrective action.
Best
Compliance expertise:
Proactively adapting your supply chain strategies in advance of regulatory changes.
Why it matters:
Regulations change constantly and without notice. Keeping up isn’t easy, but it’s easier when you have experts and technology solutions at the ready to pivot as necessary.
Global reach:
Knowing with confidence you can scale your services globally and not face compliance issues.
Why it matters:
Your business isn’t static. As you expand into new markets and source suppliers from around the world, the complexity of regulatory compliance will grow exponentially, requiring a greater breadth of expertise and process efficiency.
Continuous improvement:
Evolving your processes, embracing new technologies, keeping up with industry standards and competitor best practices.
Why it matters:
Anticipating changes and adapting to them means you can avoid mistakes, improve cost-effectiveness, and boost productivity. Stay ahead of the curve.
