Devil in the details for COVID-19 duty deferral

Importers wanting to take advantage of US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) recently announced COVID-19-related duty deferral option should be cognizant of the makeup of their entry summaries.

Importantly, if an entry summary includes any products that are subject to the list of special duties - including those related to tariffs on imports from China and steel and aluminum - the entire entry is excluded from the deferral program and the importer cannot defer any of the duties owed on that entry. Since so many products are currently subject to Trump administration tariffs, this limitation prevents a huge portion of entries from China from benefiting from the duty deferral program.

CBP on Monday announced that importers of certain goods could defer for 90 days duties owed on products brought into the United States between March 13 and April 30. The deferral is meant to help importers cope with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.