Latest issue
Importer Weekly Issue 4: CBP’s new rule for foreign importers of record
November 11, 2026
Also: a CIT scheduling order in the IEEPA class action, solar cell AD/CVD orders, a Cambodia hangers ruling, and an AGOA notice of intent.
Importer Weekly Issue 3: Section 232 robotics finding, talks and no new duty yet
November 4, 2026
Section 232 robotics and industrial machinery: a threat finding and talks, but no duty, no HTS list and no effective date. Also in this issue: a new CIT order on protests and CAPE Phase 3, Canada 338 guidance from CBP, November AD/CVD review requests due Nov 30, van trailer orders and a new shopping carts case.
Importer Weekly Issue 2: status as of October 26, 2026
October 27, 2026
Canada’s 50 percent Section 338 list changes on October 30: 22 subheadings come off and 100 go on. Also in this issue: about $990 million in IEEPA refunds held for missing bank details and how to fix it, pizza-box AD/CVD cases, the maritime 301 comment deadline (Oct 30) and key dates.
Importer Weekly Issue 1: status as of October 23, 2026
October 23, 2026
Class certification, CAPE Phase 3, low-value shipment rules, Canadian product bans, and the deadlines importers should watch.
Importer Weekly is a free weekly briefing for small and medium importers in the United States. Each issue covers what changed in tariffs, customs rules, refund processes and compliance deadlines, with a link to the official source for every item.
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From the blog: Recent analysis
As of October 19, 2026.
Tariffs and cash flow: what the latest surveys and reporting show about small businesses under pressure
October 16, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
Survey data from NFIB and the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book point the same way: higher costs, thinner margins and customers who push back on price increases. For small and medium importers, the strain also shows up in customs bonds, short-term borrowing and the wait for refunds.
The end of de minimis, 14 months on: what small and medium importers and online sellers are dealing with now
October 15, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
The $800 duty-free exemption for low-value shipments has been suspended since August 29, 2025, survived the Supreme Court’s IEEPA ruling, and is now being written into regulation. A new CBP proposal and a postponed mail deadline mean more change is coming.
IEEPA tariff refunds: where things stand, and the dates small and medium importers should not miss
October 13, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
CBP says about $126 billion in IEEPA refunds, with interest, has been certified and sent to the Treasury for payment. The trade court says the importers who have not used the refund tool are believed to be “overwhelmingly small.” Here is how the process works, who it still leaves out, and which dates matter.
Twenty months of tariff changes: why keeping up has become a job in itself
October 5, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
Since February 2025, US tariffs have been imposed, raised, paused, struck down and replaced under at least six different legal authorities. Here is the record, drawn from the Federal Register and the courts, and what it means for small and medium importers trying to price a shipment.
Section 232, Section 301 and the classification problem: why the HTS code on your invoice matters more than ever
September 21, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
Duty on a product now depends on a stack of overlapping actions, each tied to specific tariff codes, origins and effective dates. The 2026 Harmonized Tariff Schedule reached Revision 21 on October 9. Here is how the main programs work and where small and medium importers get caught out.
The compliance checklist for small and medium importers: 2026
September 14, 2026 · Updated October 19, 2026
A year of tariff changes has exposed gaps that many small and medium importers did not know they had: no ACE Portal access, an outdated bond, unclear origin records. This checklist sets out what the rules require, where each requirement comes from, and the question to ask about each one.
General information, not legal or customs advice.