The business community is working intensively, especially in the EU, to minimize the cost of the forthcoming dictatorial of USAespecially as in three days (ie July 9, 2025) the three -month Trump deadline expires.
Specifically, business consultants are three key approaches to the new international tariff map imposed by US President Donald Trump since April 9, 2025.
First, Companies make changes to their supply chains to find alternatives to market and production options.
Second, Customs warehouses grow rapidly. And third, Factories in foreign commercial zones are increasing.
The three alternatives to Trump duties
More specifically, according to a Handelsblatt report, Donald Trump wants to send his trading partners one more page, or a maximum of one and a half, to the duties conflict. The 90 -day interruption for duties, which the US president actually wanted to use for negotiations, ends on July 9th. However, shortly before the end of the grace period, the promised agreements with many countries are still missing.
Trump blames others. It is more difficult than expected to agree with many foreign governments because they are “spoiled because they have been stealing us for 30, 40 years,” the president said this week. “We will just set a number and write them a nice letter.”
So, while the threat of high duties is again in line with next week, many companies are now trying to help themselves. Have developed strategies to minimize customs costs. Business Counselors such as Cindy Allen, who know the secrets of American law, help them in particular.
“There are various strategies to reduce customs charge,” says Trade Force Force MultiPlier’s commercial expert in Handelsblatt. “In the past, companies may not have seen this as added value because the duties were zero or low. Now, every small reduction helps.” However, accurate strategies will largely depend on the size, industry and type of company, the former director of a US Customs Customs Directorate emphasizes.
Alan Wolff, former Deputy Director General of the World Trade Organization (who), explains that the burden does not always need to be as large as the simple numbers indicate, as it was already shown during Trump’s first term. The US president imposed high duties on steel and aluminum in 2018.
In the three and a half years that followed, however, authorities allowed a total of about 207,000 exceptions, according to Peterson Institute economist for international finances. If the imported products were not available in the domestic market in sufficient quality or quantity, the companies could apply for exemptions – and obviously they did so.
In the case of new duties in steel and aluminum, authorities are no longer processing applications for exemption, as Trump ordered in February. However, experts are now seeing saving capabilities mainly in supply chains. Some also discover the well -known solutions, including customs warehouses and foreign trade zones.
“Neither of them is new, but in a stable environment with low duties, they were in great demand,” says Didi Caldwell. The head of the Global Location Strategies is one of the most well -known US site decisions. But now, demand has been soared. Companies are currently examining these three options very carefully:
1. Supply chains
According to Cindy Allen, the economy has recently been largely focused on procurement channels. “Companies analyze their supply chains to find alternatives to market and production choices.” Some change from one supplier to another who may have a lower tariff burden due to the country of origin, says the expert.
Management consultants repeatedly point out a particularity of American Customs Law: the so -called first sale rule. This can be used to reduce the value of imported goods – and therefore special duties. After all, the tariff rate is usually based on the value of the goods. Many importers buy their goods from intermediaries, who usually charge a premium to their production price for their services.
However, this increases the value of the goods and therefore increases customs duties. The first sale rule allows importers in a multi -stage supply chain to use the first sale price for customs duties instead of the price prior to import. This can mean huge savings.
The Logistics PSA BPD service provider offers an example of calculation: a company buys a kind of nine intermediary for nine, while the initial purchase price from the manufacturer was six dollars. If the company imports 30,000 species to the second sale price of nine dollars with a 25%tariff rate, the customs cost will be $ 67,500.
However, if the company pays duties at the first -out price of six dollars, the cost for the same number of units will only be $ 45,000. This corresponds to saving one third.
However, no matter how advantageous the special rule sounds, some conditions must be met for the companies to use the calculation of the first sale, says Erik Van der Hoeven in a LinkedIn analysis. Trade expert is head of products at the SOVOS software service company, which supports tax companies and compliance issues.
“Documents should clearly show that the first sale was specifically intended for export to the US,” Van Der Hoeven advises. In addition, prices must be in line with market practice. This should prevent the unjust determination of prices between retailers and manufacturers.
2. Customs warehouses
The uncertainty about duties before the July 9th deadline has recently led to a particular business: customs warehouses. In such customs warehouses, imported goods can be stored substantially in domesticated for up to five years. “Importers have to pay the duties only when they release the goods from the warehouse, not when they pass through the port,” says Caldwell.
Thus, anyone who assumes that duties will be reduced in the future can wait for fluctuations and send goods to the current tariff rate. This is also beneficial to cash flow, says Caldwell. “Companies have to pay tariffs only when they are likely to have the necessary funds.”
However, security has a high price. The space in customs warehouses usually costs 1.5 times the cost of a typical warehouse. Recently, companies have been forced to pay even four times more, according to recent data from Logistics Warehousequote research company.
Demand increased by 129% in the last quarter compared to the same period last year. “New facilities could be built, but this takes time because many government licenses have to be taken,” says Caldwell.
3. Outdoor trade zones
Some companies in the US have long been based on a solution that allows them to completely bypass duties – at least if they use the United States as a production site. They have whole factories that have been declared as external commercial zones (ZES). This option has been in the US for about 100 years, but it came to the fore only because of Trump’s tariff policy.
The idea is as follows: US factories can be treated by authorities as if they were outside the US customs territory. Companies can then import individual accessories, process them, and then re -examine them. Duties are then reduced significantly or are completely removed.
But even when the goods from the factory eventually reach the US market, the Zes still offers advantages, Caldwell stresses. “Companies can postpone the payment of duties, just as with customs warehouses, saving goods to a living. However, they pay the duty that was in force at the time of the import. ” Those who predict an increase in duties can lock the original tariff rate with this option, says the expert.
Jeffrey J. Tafel, president of the National Union of Foreign Trade Zones (NAFTZ), told CNBC that his organization has increased a sharp increase in members during the 2024 presidential election and that the number is currently at a historic high. “Every time the duties are on the news, we see increased interest in any programs that mitigate the impact.”
But the process of creating an installation is complicated. First, applicants need the support of a so -called “beneficiary”, such as the local Port Authority near the plant. Subsequently, the Council of Foreign Trade Zones must approve the application. According to experts, the process can take one year or longer.
However, German companies, including BMW, have long used the model. The car industry plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, has a living status, a spokesman confirmed by investigation. It is the largest factory in the Munich -based company worldwide, which produces more than 1,500 vehicles daily.
This should give in to BMW. Last year, the automotive industry exported nearly 225,000 vehicles from here, totaling more than ten billion dollars in about 120 countries, according to data from the US Department of Commerce.