If you buy bare PCBs offshore, youโve likely been following the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling on IEEPA tariffs. Like many of you in the OEM and EMS space, we were thrilled at the prospect of recovering these costs.
But if you are expecting a giant, lump sum check from Customs (CBP) anytime soon, itโs time for a reality check.
As the Importer of Record for our customers at DirectPCB, we are deep in the trenches figuring out how to get this money back. What we are seeing is that there are still far more questions than answers from the government. CBP is reportedly developing a system (CAPE) to process claims, but it is heavily restricted.
We recently sent an update to our customers outlining our recovery strategy. I’m sharing it here because whether you buy through us, use another broker or import directly, you need to prepare your finance and purchasing teams for how this will actually play out:
๐ 1. The “Lump Sum” Myth
Refunds will not be a simple blanket calculation. CBP requires individual administrative claims for each specific entry. It is going to be a grueling, entry-by-entry administrative battle.
โ๏ธ 2. Prepare for Net Adjustments
Any money recovered will be net of customs broker fees, legal fees and administrative costs. Make sure your current suppliers are being transparent about what cut they (or their lawyers) are taking to process these claims.
๐ 3. The Micro-Entry Trap
Filing protests or Post Summary Corrections costs time and money. We did the math, and weโve drawn a hard line: we will not pursue refunds for any individual shipment where the tariff charged was $450 or less. Why? Because the administrative fees to recover it will exceed the refund itself. If you import high-mix/low-volume boards, a large portion of your shipments might fall under this threshold.
๐ก 4. Credits Keep Cash Flowing
Waiting for government checks can stall business. To expedite returning value to our customers, weโve decided that any net recovered amounts will be issued as credits against future POs rather than cash payouts.
The situation is incredibly fluid, and we are talking with trade experts daily. Tariffs have been a massive burden across the entire electronics supply chain, and recovering them shouldn’t bankrupt us in administrative fees.
Iโm curious to hear from other OEMs, EMS providers and brokers out there: Has your supplier or compliance team talked to you about a recovery strategy yet? Are they establishing minimum thresholds for claims?