Host: Annik Sobing

In this week’s News Roundup, host Annik Sobing is joined by global trade expert Pete Mento for a fast-paced and deeply insightful conversation about how U.S. Customs and Border Protection is using AI-based targeting to detect valuation fraud, origin manipulation, and transshipment schemes.

Pete explains why AI represents a new era of enforcement — where anomalies, false declarations, forced labor indicators, and risky supplier networks can be identified in seconds. He also warns that companies who think they’re “getting away with” origin washing or transshipment are likely to be caught.

A high-energy, no-nonsense episode packed with real-world examples every importer needs to hear.

AI is now detecting anomalies in classification, valuation, and country-of-origin patterns at scale.

Federal agencies are treating AI outputs as actionable enforcement data — even while telling importers not to fully trust AI themselves.

Pete emphasizes clearly:

CBP’s data on supply-chain linkages (including forced-labor networks) makes origin washing easy to detect.

Companies with strong internal audits, clean documentation, and proactive supplier engagement will be best positioned if tariff refunds become available.

Importers relying on “but we’ve never been caught before” are in for a painful wake-up call.

Billions (potentially trillions) of dollars in tariffs mean CBP is operating more like a revenue agency than a facilitation agency.

Importers, suppliers, and freight forwarders are all facing tougher expectations for compliance.

Companies like Otana, Exiger, and E2Open (formerly Avalara Trade) are developing tools to help importers audit HTS, valuation, and supply chain risk.

Pete predicts that in 12–24 months, AI-driven compliance tools will become standard for freight forwarders and importers.

Pete shares a detailed and balanced projection:

The Court may rule narrowly against the legality of how certain tariffs were implemented.

Refunds may be possible — but the mechanism could create a massive administrative burden.

Only importers who preserved rights (filing suit, protests, or PAAs) may recover funds.

Other countries may adopt similar tariff structures as they watch U.S. revenue patterns.

Mexico’s 2026 tariff framework is highlighted as an example of forward notice and adjustment time.

Here are all items mentioned in the episode:

Article: “US Customs Will Use AI to Detect Tariff Cheats”

ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) – CBP’s entry & account system

ICPA – International Compliance Professionals Association

Host: Annik Sobing — LinkedIn

Guest: Pete Mento — LinkedIn

Producer: Lalo Solorzano — LinkedIn

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