Tariff consultants: what they do and when to hire one

The short answer

• Customs broker: licensed by CBP. Files your entries, ISF and refund declarations, and is the only outside party allowed to transact customs business for you (19 U.S.C. 1641).
• Tariff or trade consultant: advises on classification, origin, valuation and duty programs. Not licensed as such. Some employ licensed brokers, some don't.
• Trade attorney: handles penalties, prior disclosures, protests that may end up in court, and Court of International Trade cases.

Most small importers don't need a separate consultant. A good broker answers classification questions as part of the job. A consultant earns its fee on projects: a classification audit across hundreds of SKUs, moving production to a new country, an FTZ application, or a drawback program.

Consultant, broker or trade attorney

The legal line is "customs business": dealings with CBP on the entry, classification and valuation of goods, the payment of duties, and refunds and drawback (19 CFR 111.1). Only a licensed broker can do that for someone else. CBP counts about 14,454 active licensed customs brokers (CBP). For more on picking one, see how to choose a customs broker.

What a tariff consultant actually does

Classification reviews

The HTS code on each line decides the duty rate and which extra duties stack on top. A consultant audits your codes, flags lines that are wrong in either direction, and drafts binding ruling requests to CBP under 19 CFR part 177. Past rulings are searchable in CROSS. When an audit finds underpayments, a consultant will usually send you to an attorney for a prior disclosure, which can sharply reduce penalties under 19 U.S.C. 1592.

Country of origin and supply-chain shifts

Moving assembly from China to Vietnam or Mexico only changes the duty if the work there changes the product's origin. Consultants test whether a planned process is enough, check trade agreement rules such as USMCA, and document the decision. Since July 24, 2026, Section 301 "forced labor" duties of 10% or 12.5% apply to goods from 60 economies, about 99.4% of US imports (Livingston), so a move that once avoided duty may no longer do it.

Section 301 and 232 exposure

Many importers now pay several duties on one line: the regular rate, Section 301 China or forced-labor duties, and Section 232 duties of 50% on steel, aluminum and copper or 25% on autos and parts (Alliance CHB, July 2026; check current rates). A consultant maps which of your SKUs carry which duties, and what a change in supplier, material or design would save.

Foreign-trade zones

Goods in an FTZ pay no duty until they enter US commerce, and goods re-exported from the zone pay none (ITA). Setting one up means an application to the FTZ Board, CBP activation and an inventory control system. That is consulting work, and big firms like Expeditors and Charter Brokerage list FTZ services.

Duty drawback

If you export or destroy imported goods, or goods made from them, you can recover 99% of the duties within five years of import (CBP). Section 301 duties are eligible, including the 2026 forced-labor and Brazil codes (CSMS #69567203). Section 232 metals duties qualify only for manufacturing drawback under conditions. Consultants run the feasibility study; a licensed broker or the claimant files. Our duty drawback guide covers the rules.

Refund planning

For IEEPA refunds, consultants sort entries by liquidation status, fix entries CAPE rejected, and track 180-day protest windows. They cannot file the CAPE declaration (CBP). Some also track the Section 122 surcharge, which the Court of International Trade held unlawful on May 7, 2026, for the named plaintiffs only. It is not being refunded today, so the advice is to keep records and protest rights (Holland & Knight). For refund fees, see tariff refund companies compared.

When to hire which

• You import a few times a year and want it done right. A broker. Ask it to explain each classification in writing.
• Your duty bill jumped and you don't know why. Ask your broker for a line-by-line breakdown first. If the answers don't hold up, pay a consultant for a classification and exposure review.
• You are moving production to a new country. A consultant before you sign with the new supplier, and a binding ruling if the origin call is close.
• You export goods you imported. A drawback specialist or a broker with an in-house drawback team.
• You import high volumes and re-export some of it. An FTZ feasibility study from a consultant.
• CBP sent a penalty notice, or an audit found underpaid duty. A trade attorney, before you reply.
• You have finally liquidated IEEPA entries. A trade attorney. Only your own court case gets you into CAPE Phase 3 today.

What tariff consultants charge

Most consultancies quote per engagement and don't publish rates. The clearest public price list we found is from Peacock Tariff Consulting, an independent firm in Orillia, Ontario. As of November 9, 2026, it lists fixed project fees of $2,500 to $25,000, monthly retainers of $2,000 to $6,000, and contingency of 20% to 30% on IEEPA refunds and drawback claims above $50,000 (Peacock). Treat that as one firm's pricing, not a market rate.

Big accounting and advisory firms bill per engagement. Brokers usually fold light advice into their entry fees and charge separately for projects. On refunds, some larger brokers reportedly sought 10% to 15% of recovered duties in 2026 (The Loadstar).

Ask how the fee is paid as well as how much. A broker may not share its fees from customs business with an unlicensed person (19 CFR 111.36). If a consultant recommends a specific broker, ask whether money changes hands.

How to vet a tariff consultant

1. Who is licensed? Get the name and license number of any licensed broker on the team, and confirm it with CBP through the customs brokers page or the broker list by port.
2. Who files? If the work ends in an entry correction, ruling request, drawback claim or CAPE declaration, find out who submits it and who signs.
3. What do you get? A written memo with HTS reasoning and citations, not a spreadsheet of new codes with no explanation.
4. Is the scope written down? Fixed fee, retainer or contingency, and exactly what the contingency applies to.
5. Any conflicts? Referral fees from brokers, claim buyers, software vendors or law firms.
6. How do they get your data? Through reports you run in ACE and send them, or a properly set-up ACE user. Never your own password.
7. References. Two clients your size, in your product category.

Firms in our directory that offer consulting

These providers list trade consulting or advisory services on their own sites. Each line restates what the profile sources show. Click through for services, fees and caveats.

Other consultancies we checked

These firms are not in our directory and are not ranked. We list them because importers search for them by name, and we confirmed each service on the firm's own site on November 9, 2026.

• Peacock Tariff Consulting (Orillia, Ontario): classification, refund and drawback recovery, forensic trade audits, USMCA and trade agreement work, and sourcing strategy. Says it has no brokerage or logistics arm and that its principal is a licensed customs broker. Publishes fee ranges (Peacock).
• Crane Worldwide Logistics: a trade advisory team with licensed customs brokers on staff, offering tariff impact assessments, FTZ strategy and implementation, tariff engineering and duty drawback (Crane Worldwide).
• KPMG US: tariff recovery and mitigation services including duty drawback, foreign-trade zones, free trade agreements, first sale for export and tariff reengineering (KPMG).
• FTI Consulting: duty mitigation, first sale valuation, classification, country of origin and trade agreement eligibility, compliance programs and audits. Its service sheet is dated November 2021 (FTI Consulting).
• Leyton: an IEEPA refund recovery service on a success-based fee with no upfront professional fees. No rate is published (Leyton).

Questions for the first call

• Which of my HTS lines would you review first, and why?
• What did a recent client in my category save, and how was it measured?
• Who on your team is a licensed customs broker, and will that person sign off on the work?
• What happens if CBP disagrees with your classification or origin call?
• Do you work with my current broker, or do you expect me to switch?

If you'd rather start with a broker that can also advise, our guide to what a customs broker costs shows how to compare quotes, and the customs glossary explains the terms you'll hear on the call.