- Julio Rodriguez US Customs Broker
- Services
- Trade Agreements
Trade agreements: duty savings that survive an audit
USMCA, CAFTA-DR, CBTPA and the rest exist to cut your duty bill to zero or near it, but a claim is only as good as the origin analysis behind it. We do the analysis, prepare the certificates of origin, and structure claims that hold up when CBP asks, because a disallowed claim costs more than the duty it saved.
Origin is a legal conclusion, not a shipping address
Where goods ship from and where they originate are different questions. Origin under a trade agreement turns on tariff shift rules, regional value content and production records. We work through the rules for your actual product and keep the support file that a verification will demand, because the importer who claims the preference is the one who answers for it.
The certificate of origin is the document CBP sees, and a defective one sinks an otherwise valid claim. We prepare them correctly, with the right certifier, the right HTS basis and the right blanket periods, so the paperwork matches the analysis.
First sale and other honest valuation tools
Duty is a percentage of value, so declared value is as much a savings lever as the rate. First sale valuation lets a qualifying multi-tier transaction declare the earlier, lower sale price, entirely legally, when the structure and documentation support it. We evaluate whether your supply chain qualifies and what records it must keep. When it does not qualify, we say so; an unsupported first sale claim is a valuation penalty waiting to liquidate.
FAQ
What does USMCA do for my duty bill?
Qualifying North American goods enter duty free. Qualification depends on the agreement's rules of origin for your specific HTS number, not on where the shipment happens to depart.
Who can sign a USMCA certificate of origin?
The exporter, producer or importer, provided they hold the knowledge or records to back it. We prepare certificates and, more importantly, the origin analysis behind them.
What is first sale valuation?
A lawful valuation method where, in a qualifying multi-tier sale, duty is calculated on the earlier sale price rather than the final one. It requires the right transaction structure and documentation, which we evaluate before anything is claimed.
What happens if CBP rejects my trade agreement claim?
The duty comes due, sometimes with interest and penalties, across every entry that used the claim. That is why the origin file is built before the first claim, not after the first question.
Find the duty you are leaving on the table
Tell us what you import and from where. A licensed broker will map which agreements and valuation tools genuinely apply, and which only look like they do.
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