It wouldn’t be an understatement to say the past week’s threats and near-imposition of double-digit duties on Canada and Mexico would have upended North American trade. Unable or unwilling to reach an agreement, at 12:01 AM ET on Tuesday, February 4th, goods of both China and Hong Kong country of origin were subject to an additional 10% import duty, bringing many products to an additional 35% based on the entered value of the merchandise.
While the president had been telegraphing his intent to impose additional tariffs for quite some time, the shocking elements of the EOs for all three countries included language prohibiting the use of de minimis, or low-value entry processes, for goods of those countries. De minimis can be used when the buyer of a consignment is known at the time of entry, and releases are made via Section 321 or Type 86 provisions, both of which do not collect ad valorem or trade remedy duties. Now, those shipments will require an importer of record, payment of ad valorem duties, trade remedy duties, and any other required agency submissions at the time of entry.
For e-commerce brands relying on direct-to-consumer fulfillment from overseas, the possibility that business model may have changed indelibly brings higher costs, compliance hurdles, and delivery delays. Argents Express has a solution for those companies – a return to U.S.-based warehousing and integrated technology platforms, enabling companies to pivot back to domestic inventory storage while maintaining cost efficiency and customer satisfaction.
There are three reasons the case for onshoring inventory has never been stronger.
- Imports are cleared, duty paid, and goods delivered and placed into inventory in one of Argents’ three strategically located warehouses (Tacoma, Chicago, and Charleston).
- The removal of de minimis privileges means even small packages now require detailed documentation, including 10-digit HTS codes, increasing administrative workloads and clearance delays. By fulfilling orders domestically, brands bypass these complexities entirely, allowing for a single customs entry into the warehouse and then shipping customs cleared merchandise to individual consignees.
- Working with our customers, Argents helps select inventory levels and locations based on previous and forecasted sell-through data, and from any of our three warehouses, consumers will receive their shipment in no more than 1–3 days by ground shipping, a critical advantage as cross-border shipments face extended processing times⁵.
Our warehouses integrate directly with major e-commerce platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce via API connectivity, enabling real-time inventory tracking and automated order routing. Argents’ licensed customs brokers work with companies to investigate classification, potential exemptions or for large enough projects, valuation that, if correct, can lower the dutiable figure through any of a number of legitimate valuation tests. Accurate classification of goods minimizes post-entry liabilities and rate advances, while scalable storage solutions let companies adjust inventory levels across three facilities without long-term commitments.
The broader trade landscape underscores the urgency of adaptation. With China retaliating via tariffs on U.S. energy and agricultural exports, supply chain instability will likely persist. Argents’ model future-proofs operations by reducing reliance on cross-border shipments vulnerable to policy shifts, ensuring compliance with evolving CBP requirements, and providing data analytics to optimize inventory turnover. The Peterson Institute for International Economics tariff impact analysis forecasts that companies that act now to relocate inventory can avoid projected annual cost increases of $3,000+ per household under expanded tariffs while securing their reputation as reliable suppliers.
Find out how a return to onshoring can deliver stability to your supply chain, protecting hard-won customer loyalty for on time and accurate shipping and fulfillment. Combining freight forwarding, customs clearance, warehousing, and fulfillment, turn to Argents to transform regulatory challenges into opportunities. Contact us today to learn more and design a tailored strategy that reduces uncertainty at times of high political volatility.
