Consulting

The top trend our consulting team saw throughout 2024 was the ongoing crackdowns and increased scrutiny by U.S. Customs & Border Protection on imported goods. In their efforts to weed out bad actors from the global supply chain, CBP continues to introduce new regulations and guidelines that puts the onus on importers to know where their goods are coming from.

This includes updates to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) and harsher crackdowns on association with fentanyl. To help shed light on the scope of the problem, CBP has released a live tracking dashboard on their website to provide updated statistics on shipments detained for ties to the UFLPA.

Scarbrough’s partnership with Altana, the same platform CBP uses to screen shipments, was a major step in helping our clients remain compliant with the always evolving guidelines.

In today’s era of cost-cutting, we’re also seeing a rise in duty drawback interest from customers. As tariffs continue to be discussed and imposed, drawback is another tool for importers to take advantage of to try to save some money each year.

“We’ve definitely had an increase in clients expressing interest in duty drawback, especially with the looming possibility of additional Section 301 tariffs,” said Alyson Schroer, Senior Manager, Global Trade Services.