On May 15, 2025, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) published an FAQ stating that the “in-transit” exception for the reciprocal tariff duty rate does not apply to goods loaded onto a “feeder” vessel prior to April 5 (the IEEPA cutoff date under HTSUS 9903.01.28) or April 9 (the IEEPA cutoff date under HTSUS 9903.01.43 – 9903.01.76, which HTSUS provisions are currently suspended), when the goods arrive at a U.S. port on a vessel other than the feeder vessel.
CBP provides the following example scenario: “Prior to the cutoff date for the reciprocal tariff in-transit provision, U.S. bound cargo is loaded onto a vessel destined for a foreign port prior to shipment to the U.S. At this foreign port, after the cutoff date, the U.S. bound cargo is transferred onto a different vessel that is destined for the U.S. This new vessel then arrives at a U.S. port of entry to unload the U.S. bound cargo and make entry.”
According to CBP, the cargo in this scenario does not qualify for the in-transit exception for reciprocal tariffs “because the U.S. bound cargo was laden onto a vessel destined for the U.S. after the cutoff date irrespective of when it departed from the original port of lading” and was therefore not loaded onto the final mode of transit prior to the applicable cutoff date for the reciprocal tariff in-transit exception.
Alternatively, U.S.-bound goods that are loaded onto a U.S.-bound vessel prior to the cutoff date will still qualify for the “in-transit” exception if the U.S-bound vessel stops at various foreign ports to load or unload other cargo (or refuel) en route to the U.S., but the U.S.-bound cargo remains onboard and enters a U.S. port on that vessel. This is because, “prior to the cutoff date, the U.S. bound cargo was laden onto a vessel destined for the U.S. upon departure from the original port of loading and was never unladen or transferred onto another vessel.”
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