Kajal Viez
Appearances
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
So a customs broker is kind of like the unsung middleman in international trade. They're responsible for making sure companies are paying what they owe in duties to the government when importing or exporting goods. And for the government, they are kind of the first line in terms of revenue collection from taxes or tariffs on imports. And so it was a job that was always on autopilot in many ways.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
That's all very different now with seemingly off the cuff and very spontaneous changes to U.S. trade policies, the applications of new tariffs. It's become quite a pickle for both companies who are importing goods and these customs brokers who are suddenly in the eye of the hurricane.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
It's meant really a lot of long hours and really manual work. Or in an age when we're talking so much about artificial intelligence and automation, it was quite surprising to see how much of the work was people staring at spreadsheets and really facing like 13 hour days, this really tedious paperwork effectively.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
They've kind of become almost like therapists for a lot of companies playing art, crystal ball readers, consultants, accountants, lawyers wearing numerous hats these days.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
They're seeing how companies are preparing themselves for potential disruptions. So for example, some custom brokers were telling us about how their clients were rushing to move supplies ahead of expected tariff announcements. So we visited one warehouse that had thousands of recreational ATVs, recreational vehicles, just stored, just waiting for some kind of clarity.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
The manufacturer had rushed everything over and Just get it in before there was a change to the tariffs policies in the States. In some cases we've seen people move raw materials from Asia, hold it over in warehouses in the States in kind of a tax-free zone before moving it to manufacturing plants in Mexico.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
And so the biggest risk for everybody is just making sure that you're paying what's owed, not paying more than what's owed and just more than anything, avoiding fines down the line, which are definitely a risk for many customs brokers.
WSJ What’s News
Trump Floats Lower China Tariff Ahead of Trade Talks
They've kind of become almost like therapists for a lot of companies, playing art, crypto ball readers, consultants, accountants, lawyers, wearing numerous hats these days.