C.H. Robinson uncovers more than a billion dollars in tariff refunds going untapped

Companies are running out of time to collect Chinese tariff relief with nearing deadline

C.H. Robinson has revealed that US companies importing from China could be missing out on more than a billion dollars in refunds via Section 301 tariff exclusions. The vast majority of these refund opportunities, which have continued to be updated since 301 tariffs were implemented as a result of the US-China trade war, are set to expire Dec. 31. With two-thirds of Chinese imported goods subject to 301 tariffs, businesses both large and small may be leaving millions on the table if they don’t take action.

Since 301 tariffs were implemented in 2018, C.H. Robinson has identified potential savings for its customers of roughly US$980.0 million related to exclusion refunds, with 96.0% of them being product-specific which require a more complex, time-consuming analysis for qualification. The Company has already assisted hundreds of US importers in navigating the complexity of these tariffs and exclusions along with providing duty recovery and compliance consulting.

C.H. Robinson identifies that the biggest barriers to duty recovery for these companies are a lack of time, data, and expertise to navigate the complex and lengthy application process. With its global suite of services and technology built by and for supply chain experts, the Company can help customers cut through the clutter, save time by automating processes, and maximise refund potential. This is especially important now as the pandemic has so many businesses seeking cost savings.

On their own, a US importer would first need to see if their Harmonised Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes qualify for any one of the specific 301 exclusions and then go through the time-consuming act of comparing their specific products against the product-specific exclusions. With its global trade experts and single, multimodal, global technology platform Navisphere, C.H. Robinson reduces this time-intensive process by running data comparisons and analysis that delivers strategic recommendations to maximise refund potential for its customers.

Throughout the trade war and the onset of the pandemic – which accelerated the rate of exclusion updates – C.H. Robinson has helped companies of all sizes submit for hundreds of millions in savings. To give one example, C.H. Robinson assisted Wheel Pros, a large wheel design and distribution company, in submitting for a significant refund.

To help even more customers navigate the latest tariff challenges and opportunities, C.H. Robinson has launched Trade & Tariff Insights, which is a digital one-stop-shop for ongoing updates and insights on the latest in trade issues.