Recently, a delicious and sweet nectar that families have enjoyed for generations has come into the tariff crosshairs; honey.
The results of the investigation initiated by the American Honey Products Association (AHPA) and the Sioux Honey Association (SHA) resulted in the amendment of anti-dumping (ADD) and countervailing duties (CVD) for honey, originating from Argentina, Brazil, Vietnam and India.
In May 2022 countervailing measures go into effect, meaning distribution companies from the above-mentioned countries will be required to pay an increased tariff in order to bring any honey into the United States. In turn, the price of honey is expected to increase substantially for consumers and honey importers are now going to be looking at increased cost of doing business.
In 2017, the amount of honey imported to the United States was triple the amount manufactured on US soil; with Argentina accounting for almost 20 percent of the imported honey. It’s an astronomical amount of product and there is no way to check each and every individual container to make sure its contents are legitimate. Random inspections are in place to help prevent the importing of illegal products, and anti-dumping and countervailing measures are in force to prevent companies from manipulating the market price of goods offered in the US.
Random inspections are mostly self explanatory, but anti-dumping and countervailing can be a very complex topic involving several legal levels and government entities, in addition to a lifetime of paperwork.
Put simply, the anti-dumping and countervailing amendments are tariffs put in place to offset any price manipulation countries attempt when importing goods into the US at substantially lower prices than the established market prices.
Importers of honey will now be looking to strategize on how to navigate these new tariffs and what ways they can save when bringing their goods into the United States. 4PL operators like ITC Diligence International, Inc. work with importers to accomplish exactly this goal; understanding new tariffs, maintaining control on how and when they are paid, and deferring, reducing or eliminating these tariffs where possible.
Business owners need to remain in control when facing tariffs and CBP fees, and having a 4PL partner like ITC Diligence International, Inc. with FTZ warehouses across the country, is crucial to helping these importers.
Foreign Trade Zones or FTZ’s give a clear path to importers who are looking to navigate surprise tariffs involved in countervailing, while keeping delivery times and supply operation intact. In this particular case, importers and distributors of honey may start looking for ways to store their honey, rather than move it along in the next function of the supply chain and pay these tariffs much later, or not at all. As the Department of Commerce continues to crack down on countries and companies bringing in less expensive products, businesses who operate on a normal day to day basis and within legal limits must now find new and creative ways to minimize, defer, or work around increased costs due to these tariffs and custom border patrol fees.
Foreign Trade Zones and 4PL providers offer benefits to importers and exporters such as:
- Critical inventory management
- Automated record and document keeping
- Deeper understanding and visibility of the supply chain
- Re-exporting becomes significantly easier
- Ensured regulatory compliance
- Improved cash flow
Having an FTZ warehouse to quickly move inventory into can be invaluable for a business looking to pivot and solve supply chain problems. However, a Foreign Trade Zone warehouse is only one piece of the logistics puzzle and to truly get the critical inventory and supply chain function management that businesses these days need, and that honey importers are going to need in the coming months, a 4PL operator -like ITC Diligence International, Inc.- is necessary.
ITC Diligence International, Inc. has provided support to importers and exporters for over 30 years and operates FTZ warehouses across all major ports in the USA from Long Beach and Los Angeles to Miami and New York.
Custom tailored solutions and inventory management that truly impacts a business’s bottom line is what the experts at ITC Diligence International, Inc. have built their business on, but the personalized service and insightful advice on how to properly manage inventory along the supply chain is what has kept clients loyal for over 3 decades.
A 4PL operator like ITC Diligence International, Inc. has the relationships, the warehouse space, and the systems in place that bring immediate value to any importer looking to bring goods into the United States. They’ve already been storing honey for clients who are anticipating these cost changes -75 containers from the date of publication of this article- and want to help other importers as well.
Don’t wait until it’s too late and rising costs have already done their damage. Reach out to the experts at ITC Diligence International, Inc. to learn more about storing honey properly for importing into the United States, changing tariff laws, supply chain inventory management, and the best and most efficient path to bring goods into the USA.
