Carra Globe Global Customs & Compliance Services

 Mexico operates one of the most powerful duty reduction frameworks in the world. IMMEX, PROSEC, USMCA, and free trade zones can eliminate or dramatically reduce duty and VAT exposure for qualifying importers. The majority of foreign businesses importing into Mexico have never used any of them. The standard tariff rates range from 0 to 25% on most goods. But add 16% IVA on the full landed value, plus potential countervailing duties in sectors where dumping has been found, and the total tax burden on a standard commercial import can reach 30 to 40% of the goods value before anything has cleared Mexican customs. The tools to reduce that exist. They are legal, they are well-established, and most businesses simply do not know they qualify. January 2026 changed the rates on over 1,400 tariff codes Mexico's Customs Law Reform raised tariffs on 1,463 tariff codes from January 1, 2026. New rates average 35% and reach 50% in textiles, apparel, plastics, steel, aluminium, and automotive ...

 US importers are dealing with the highest effective tariff rates since 1972. Even after the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, the duty burden has barely moved for most businesses. Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods are fully in force. Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium are fully in force. And a 10% global surcharge under Section 122 applies to virtually everything else until July 24, 2026. The frustrating part is that a meaningful portion of what most businesses are paying is avoidable. The legal tools exist. The deadlines are running. Most importers just have not taken the steps to use them. Your IEEPA refund will not arrive automatically The Supreme Court ruled that $166 billion in IEEPA duties were illegally collected from more than 330,000 importers. CBP is not sending automatic refund checks. You have to register for ACH refunds in the ACE portal. You have to identify your liquidated entries and file formal protests within 180 days of liqu...

 If your business is importing goods into Canada and paying full tariff rates on every shipment, there is a reasonable chance you are leaving money on the table. Not because you are doing anything wrong, but because there are legal tools specifically designed to reduce your Canadian customs bill that most importers have simply never been told about. Canada's headline tariff rates look modest at 4 to 5% on average. The real cost sits in what stacks on top. GST and HST apply on both the declared value and the duty. Missed free trade agreement claims add up across dozens of shipments. And since CARM launched in May 2025, compliance failures have been generating unexpected penalty assessments that catch businesses completely off guard. The most common reason businesses overpay is not a wrong duty rate. It is a missed claim, an incorrect valuation, or a compliance gap that triggers an assessment nobody saw coming. CUSMA should be your first stop If you source goods from the United S...

In 2025, the message from every logistics consultant, trade publication, and sourcing platform was the same: move from China to Vietnam . Escape the tariffs. Lower your landed cost. Reduce your supply chain risk. The logic was simple and the tariff maths supported it. In 2026, that advice needs a serious update. Not because Vietnam is the wrong destination. For the right product categories, it remains an excellent one. But the conditions that made the China-to-Vietnam migration look straightforward have changed in three significant ways that most sourcing guides have not caught up with yet. Change 1: Vietnam's Tariff Advantage Is Under Investigation On March 11, 2026, the US Trade Representative launched Section 301 investigations into 16 countries for industrial overcapacity. Vietnam is specifically named, flagged for what USTR describes as "untethered" growth in electronics, semiconductors, batteries, and automotive components. The target date for inves...

On April 2, 2025, the Trump administration launched the most ambitious tariff programme in American history. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that programme illegal. On April 2, 2026, the government is still processing refunds to more than 330,000 businesses that paid duties they were never legally owed. The $166 billion being refunded is not just a legal footnote. It is the most precise measure available of how much the Liberation Day tariffs cost the businesses that import goods for a living. Every dollar of that $166 billion was extracted from an Importer of Record, passed through supply chains, absorbed into margins or pushed onto consumers, and is now being returned through a refund process that CBP expects to have operational around April 20, 2026. One year on, that number is the scoreboard. What the Data Actually Shows The Trump administration's explicit goals for Liberation Day were measurable. Reduce the trade deficit. Bring back manufacturing. Low...