News / Navigating tariffs: 'like trying to solve a Rubik's cube while colour-blind'

© Alain Lacroix

Logistics providers tasked with ‘providing clarity’ to customers have a near-impossible task when they themselves are in the dark. 

Anthony De Filippis, co-CEO of CargoTrans, described “the recent tariff whiplash” as a “metaphorical cold plunge”. 

“Some days, the ink isn’t dry on the update before it’s out of date. The pace of change is relentless,” he told The Loadstar.  

And Geodis CEO Marie-Christine Lombard said that, as a logistics provider tasked with providing clarity and clearing customer’s goods through customs on time and at the right rate, all the uncertainty was “having a major impact on business”.  

“We are constantly on the lookout, using dedicated IT systems to ensure that we are clearing goods at the going rate at any particular time,” she said. “But it’s the constant changing of the rules of the game that’s worrisome – business doesn’t like uncertainty.

“I think it’s still too early to draw any conclusions, but it’s the unpredictability of it all that really bothers me, because it’s not good for investment nor for consumption.” 

And not only are tariff rates and their consequences seem to changing by the minute, but finding any real clarity in the information available is like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube while colour-blind, said a source. One example would be the latest updates to the de minimis exemption. 

The fee for shipments under $800 transported via postal services – often from small ecommerce companies – from 2 May, and then 1 June, has been edited from $25-$50 and $75-$150, to $100 to $200. While shipments of the same value transported via sea or airfreight – bulk low-value shipments – will be subject to a rate of duty worth 120% of its value (ad valorem), up from 90%.  

One air cargo executive told The Loadstar: “Badly worded executive orders state two different charges because our ‘orange man’ and his merry band assume ecommerce comes mostly via post.” 

Another perplexing element is ‘tariff stacking’ – where multiple unrelated tariffs can apply to any one shipment. 

And, yesterday, the understanding was that the US had imposed 125% tariffs on imports from China, however it has now been said that this is actually 145%, as the 125% was in addition to the previously introduced “fentanyl tariff” of 20%.  

Also at play is the 10% tariff on “anything from anywhere”, unless you’re shipping steel or aluminium, or from Canada or Mexico, in which case the tariff is 25%.  

Jamie Houlihan, Flexport’s EMEA director of customs, explained: “Essentially, the tariffs that were announced are not the only potential tariffs that will apply to your goods. For example, a new tariff of 10% on the EU will also stack on top of ‘the most favoured nation’ tariff, which is the general duty rate that may apply to those products – including other tariffs that were part of previous enactments.”  

And Ms Lombard urged that shippers not providing what is needed by customs could lead to goods being put on hold, awaiting clearance, which then creates disruption at ports and airports and bottlenecks in road haulage.  

“We can point to cases where this has happened, which we have resolved, but there is the risk that they could happen again,” she warned. 

Mr De Filippis told The Loadstar that, while “it’s definitely more difficult”, that is where a forwarder “adds the most value”.  

 “Let’s be honest, if everything moved smoothly, you wouldn’t need a logistics partner in the first place.” 

“I empathise deeply with the clients we serve. Many of them are being forced to reinvent themselves overnight, finding new suppliers, shifting markets, or creating entirely new revenue streams. No human – or market – likes uncertainty,” he said. 

“My advice? Work with a customs broker that offers more than a ‘wait and see’ shrug. Find one that is proactive – someone who sees around corners, not just fills out forms. 

“More than ever, this is a time to lean into your network – online, in-person, across sectors,” he urged.