Section 338 Tariffs on Canada: The New 50% Duty From 19 August 2026
On 20 July 2026, the United States imposed an additional 50% tariff on a range of Canadian goods under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, and the duty takes effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on 19 August 2026. Two things make this different from the tariff changes importers have already absorbed this […]
Export Controls and Data Centre Hardware: The Global Rules for 2026
A server, a networking switch, or a rack of GPUs crossing a border in 2026 is rarely governed by one country’s rule. It is usually governed by several at once: a multilateral baseline most governments have agreed to, plus whatever additional controls the exporting country, the destination country, and sometimes a third country with a […]
In-Transit from Origin Processing: What It Means and What to Do
You checked your tracking and it says in-transit from origin processing. It sounds technical, and if the status has not changed in a day or two it can feel like something has gone wrong. In almost all cases it has not. This is one of the most common and most normal statuses in the entire […]
Enterprise IT Hardware Imports: In-House, Forwarder, or Importer of Record?
Most articles about importing enterprise IT hardware in 2026 answer a question you did not ask. They explain that customs is complex and then tell you to hire an importer of record, without ever addressing the decision you are actually trying to make: for this shipment, into this country, do you handle it yourself, hand […]
Reduce Import Duty UAE 2026: The Methods That Cut Your Dubai Customs Bill
The UAE already has one of the lowest tariff regimes in the world, a flat 5% on most goods, yet many businesses importing IT hardware, data centre equipment, and machinery into Dubai and Abu Dhabi still pay more than they need to, or pay duty they could have deferred or avoided entirely. The reason companies […]
Global Importer of Record for Technology OEMs: Why Shipping Your Product Is Different From Deploying It
Almost every guide to importer of record services is written for the same reader: an enterprise rolling out its own hardware into its own offices or data centres. Ship the servers, clear customs, deploy them, done. That reader has a real problem, but it is not your problem. If you are a technology OEM, your […]
Reduce Import Duty Taiwan 2026: The WTO ITA, CCC Classification, Bonded Zones, and the Methods That Cut Your Taiwan Customs Bill
Taiwan sits at the centre of the global technology supply chain, and for most IT hardware its import duty is already 0%. Yet businesses importing servers, networking equipment, and components into Taipei, Hsinchu, and Kaohsiung still overpay, usually because a product that should qualify for zero duty is misclassified, or because the compliance gate is […]
Supply Chain Resilience in 2026: The Compliance Bottleneck Nobody Stress-Tested
Ask a room of supply chain leaders about building supply chain resilience in 2026 and you will hear the same word: volatility. In the Thomson Reuters Global Trade Report, 72% of trade professionals named US tariff volatility the single most impactful regulatory change of the year, up from 41% the year before, and the share […]
Reduce Import Duty South Korea 2026: KORUS, the FTA Network, and the Methods That Cut Your Korean Customs Bill
South Korea is one of the most FTA-connected economies on earth, with preferential agreements covering the United States, the European Union, China, ASEAN, and most of its major trading partners. Yet a large share of businesses importing into Korea still pay the full applied tariff on goods that qualify for zero or reduced duty. The […]
Power of Attorney for Customs: What It Authorises, Who Stays Liable, and Why It Is Not a Formality
A power of attorney for customs is the document that lets a broker or agent transact customs business in your name. Almost every import that clears through a third party rests on one, and most importers sign it without reading it, on the assumption that handing over the authority also hands over the risk. It […]