Tariffs (CONT’D FROM PAGE 26)
Board Converting NEWS INTERNET DIRECTORY
has cargo on that vessel. It does not necessarily need to be built in China. It’s owned or operated. It is a per net ton or $120 per container, whichever is higher. This is interesting and new, and there’s a lot of confusion out in the industry on how exactly this is going to be interpreted, especially with Chinese ownership, be- cause you know when this comes out, companies will be planning their ownership structures and trying to find loop- holes around this because it’s tremendous cost. It very quickly gets up to the millions of dollars per port arrival under these fees. The underlying policy objective is to, I don’t want to say cripple, but the idea is that there should be more U.S.-built machinery. This is part of the overall strategy to combat Chinese-built imports and also to try to combat Chinese dominance over ocean transportation. With the de minimis provision, you used to be able to import anything that was $800 or less into the coun- try completely duty and tariff-free. That has been entirely eliminated from any country. This mostly impacts e-com- merce. But any spare parts or small tools that a company may have gotten in duty free are also impacted. How Tariffs Are Assessed So how are tariffs assessed? It’s going to be three main prompts. It’s going to be tariff classification, which is a code that’s created by Congress that can classify anything. So when the President issues an order he will say, “These are the codes that are covered.” Number two is going to be country of origin. And there’s two types of country of origin. There’s general country of origin for marking purposes, and then there’s country of origin for free trade agreement purposes. So, for instance, if a company is trying to qualify for the U.S., Mexico, Can- ada free trade agreement, they technically could have a Mexican article that does not meet the rules of the free trade agreement, so you do not get the benefits of the free trade agreement. But when we talk about origin, if it’s Chinese in origin, we’ve got the entire classification. We know the product is covered. We’ve got the origin. We know it’s China. And then we move on to how it’s assessed, which is the cus- tomer value. Most typically this is the price for the goods when sold for export to the United States. But that the price is potentially debatable for customs purposes. Customs valuation becomes an important planning mechanism in addition to origin and tariff classification. As the President goes out and makes trade deals and continues his tariff policy, it becomes confusing on a reg- ular basis. How do I calculate what I’m going to pay when this thing lands? So this almost needs to become a live cal- culus for businesses, especially when making long-term purchasing commitments. [A customer] has committed to buy a product and the tariff is 20 percent. Ten months later, it’s going to get on the boat, and now it’s 50 percent. I do hope things will stabilize, but that’s not guaranteed.
THE HAIRE GROUP www.hairegroup.com
Haire Group is the premier provider of new machinery for the corrugated industry. From the Apstar line of flexo folder gluers and rotary die cutters, the Encore line of flexo folder gluers and rotary die cutters, and the Engico flexo folder glu- er, Haire is able to pair clients with the best machinery solu- tions for the best value to meet their needs. Haire Group’s service department helps its customers maximize uptime and profitability through superior 24/7 service and support, a pre-install training center, and over a million dollars’ worth of spare parts at their offices just outside of Chicago. Haire Group has been the industry’s #1 pre-owned machinery bro- ker and plant equipment appraiser since 1976. HarperLove is the leading provider of specialty adhesives, performance additives, and wet-strength resins to corru- gated packaging manufacturers. With the largest and most experienced field service and technical support team posi- tioned throughout the U.S. and Latin America, HarperLove has a long-standing reputation for providing outstanding service and delivering demonstrable performance improve- ments. HarperLove’s renowned services include not only innovative product development and custom product for- mulation, but also machine and process assessments, ad- hesive formula adjustments, machine tuning, detailed ser- vice reporting, and more. HARPERLOVE www.HarperLove.com Kernic Systems has been a leading global provider of re- cycling equipment solutions since 1978. For over 40 years, Kernic Systems has provided balers, air conveying and dust collection systems, shredders, industrial vacuums, and re- cycling equipment to a wide range of markets. Today, Ker- nic Systems serves customers with an expanded offering of standard products and custom-engineered systems through three primary business divisions: Recycling Solu- tions, Dust Collection and Air Pollution Control, and Material Handling. Kiwiplan provides state-of-the-art software solutions to cor- rugated, folding carton, plastics and flexible packaging fa- cilities around the globe. Kiwiplan’s Total Solution delivers comprehensive, seamless real-time flow of information from sales order management to dynamic total plant scheduling and inventory control through shipping. With deep manu- facturing and distribution expertise, Kiwiplan knows the specific problems customers face and provides the spe- cialized software they need to adapt, compete, and win in today's rapidly changing world. KERNIC SYSTEMS www.kernicsystems.com KIWIPLAN www.kiwiplan.com
CONTINUED ON PAGE 30
28
November 10, 2025
www.boardconvertingnews.com
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker