Tariffs Put Federal Officers on Frontline of Trade War
US Customs & Border Protection enforces tariffs
The sweeping tariffs President Trump has imposed on foreign goods coming into the country fall to US Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Officers at Ports of Entry to enforce, placing them on the frontlines of an impending trade war.
Since Trump took office a second time, CBP has collected an average of $217 million in tariff revenue daily - a figure that is expected to change as the new tariffs take effect.
How we got here:
On Wednesday, April 2, 2025, President Trump acted on his threat to impose substantial tariffs on imported goods - in response to what he declared "a national emergency."
"Large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States. That threat has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States in the domestic economic policies of key trading partners and structural imbalances in the global trading system. I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to this threat." - US President Donald J Trump (April 2, 2025)
What happens next:
The tariffs announced by President Trump will begin taking effect on Saturday, April 5, 2025. This follows the CBP implementation of five Presidential Executive Orders that changed tariffs on imports from China, Hong Kong, Canada, and Mexico in early March as follows:
An additional 25% tariff on goods that do not satisfy U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) rules of origin.
A lower, additional 10% tariff on energy products imported from Canada that fall outside the USMCA preference.
A lower, additional 10% tariff on potash imported from Canada and Mexico that falls outside the USMCA preference.
An additional 20% on goods from China and Hong Kong.
In addition to ensuring foreign goods arriving in the US don't contain contraband or are prohibited by US law, CBP Officers are also responsible for ensuring that those importing cargo pay the required tariffs as it passes through 328 Ports of Entry around the country.
This places them on the frontlines of both the fight to secure the Southern Border from drugs & migrants being smuggled into the country by the cartels (who are also trying to smuggle the cash from their illegal operations and guns to enforce them) out of the country. --- as well as enforcing Trump's new tariffs in the first round of what some fear could escalate into an all-out International Trade War.
Do you support the tariffs on imported goods President Trump has imposed?
Share your opinion in the comments to this article.
(Note: If you want to do a “deep dive” on these tariffs, I recommend this article by The Capitol Hill Reader)
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
