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Trade & customs

Trade, customs & tariffs

A tariff is rarely a single number. The rate you actually pay is assembled from a base (most-favoured-nation) duty, any additional trade measures, applicable taxes, customs fees, and any preferential treatment your goods qualify for. Understanding the stack is what separates a rough guess from a defensible import cost.

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Problems this solves

  • You have a duty percentage but do not know what it includes.
  • You need to separate base duty from extra trade measures and taxes.
  • You want to know whether a trade agreement could lower the rate.
  • You need to model how a tariff change would hit your costs.

Questions you can ask Pilot

What tariff applies to cotton shirts imported into the United States?
Does a free-trade agreement reduce my duty for this origin?
How do additional tariff measures stack on top of base duty?
What happens to my cost if duty rises by 10 percentage points?

How Pilot works this out

Pilot treats the duty rate as an input to confirm, not a fact to assert. When you provide a rate, it applies it deterministically to the customs value; when you do not, it says so and points to the official schedule.

The tariff stack is presented in parts where data allows: base duty, additional measures, taxes (import VAT/GST is charged separately in most countries), and customs fees. Preferential treatment under an origin agreement is only applied when you confirm the goods qualify.

Tariff-impact scenarios recompute the landed cost when you change the rate, so you can see the difference between the original and alternative treatments without re-entering the whole problem.

The variables that matter

Customs value
The basis for duty — usually the transaction value, sometimes plus freight and insurance.
Base duty rate
The standard MFN rate for the commodity code and destination.
Additional measures
Anti-dumping, safeguard or country-specific tariffs that stack on top.
Preference
A reduced rate available when rules-of-origin conditions are met.

Worked examples

“Duty on a $43,500 shipment at a 12% rate”

Pilot applies 12% to the customs value to give the base duty, then reminds you that import VAT/GST and any additional measures are separate.

“Same shipment, duty +10 points”

A what-if raises the rate to 22% and shows the extra duty and the new landed total side by side.

Common mistakes

  • Treating a headline duty rate as the total import charge — taxes and fees are usually extra.
  • Assuming a trade agreement applies automatically without meeting rules of origin.
  • Using last year’s rate; tariff schedules and additional measures change frequently.

Limitations

  • • Pilot does not maintain a live global tariff feed; rates you enter or reference figures must be confirmed officially.
  • • Additional and preferential measures are highly product- and route-specific.
  • • Customs valuation methods differ by jurisdiction and can change the base.

Verify before relying on this

  • • Confirm the current rate for your HS code and destination in the official tariff.
  • • Check whether additional trade measures apply to your origin.
  • • Confirm rules-of-origin eligibility before claiming a preference.

Official source categories

UK Trade Tariff — Official UK duty and measures look-up.
USITC HTS — US tariff schedule including additional measures.
National customs authority — Authoritative for valuation and current treatment.

Frequently asked questions

Does Pilot know the current tariff for my product?

No. Pilot never invents a current rate. It calculates with the rate you supply or clearly labelled reference data and links you to the official schedule to confirm the figure for your code and destination.

Is import VAT included in the duty rate?

Usually not. In most countries import VAT or GST is charged separately on top of duty, so Pilot keeps them distinct and reminds you to add the tax.