Cross-border Tax Talks

Tariff Tug-of-War: Coordinating your trade strategy

Doug McHoney (PwC’s International Tax Services Global Leader) is joined by Chris Desmond, a Principal in PwC’s Customs & Trade Practice. Chris leads PwC US’s Global Trade Services. Doug and Chris, while at PwC’s Global Transfer Pricing, Customs, and Indirect Tax Conference in Prague, discuss the Supreme Court’s expedited review of IEEPA‑based tariffs, possible outcomes, and the implications of an estimated ~$108B refund exposure across multiple industries (See our PwC Insight: IEEPA Tarrif: Understanding the Potential outcomes ahead of the Supreme Court’s Ruling for more details). They cover how persistent tariffs elevate customs to the C‑suite and require close integration with transfer pricing and Pillar Two modeling. They also discuss practical mitigations including first sale for export, duty drawback, Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) reclassification and origin analysis, transfer‑pricing alignment, and use of foreign‑trade zones -- paired with rigorous controls as US government scrutiny intensifies. The episode closes with sector‑specific developments and a data‑driven playbook.  

• 00:05 - Welcome: MLB playoffs – Baseball Recap 
• 04:25 - Shift to tariffs: 'Where are we today?'—uncertainty gives way to action as companies accept tariffs’ persistence.  
• 08:00 - Supreme Court IEEPA case: Expedited November decision anticipated.  
• 11:25 - Potential outcomes: Uphold, strike, or partial slice; refund mechanics. 
• 12:10 - What’s at stake: Roughly $108B  
• 13:10 - Operational challenges: Government shutdown could complicate large‑scale refunds.  
• 14:20 - Tariffs and transfer pricing: Interactions, potential policy adjustments, and the possibility of a temporary 'tariff gap.'  
• 16:05 - CFO/CEO agendas: need for integrated customs, TP, direct/indirect tax, and logistics teams.  
• 18:00 - Mitigation playbook 
• 18:30 - First sale for export 
• 21:15 - Duty drawback 
• 22:45 - Classification & origin 
• 23:45 - Transfer pricing levers 
• 25:00 - TP vs. customs valuation 
• 26:50 - Supply‑chain reroutes and nearshoring 
• 29:45 - Foreign‑trade zones 
• 30:05 - DOJ memo and task‑force focus on trade: Multi‑agency audits; Need for robust controls and contemporaneous files.  
• 32:20 - Sector specifics: cabinets/vanities, timber, large trucks, and proposed 'No Coffee Tax Act'. 
• 35:25 – Data driven insights: Stand up product‑level data and decision trees. 
• 36:35 - Practical Steps: Merge ACE with ERP, quantify International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) affected entries, and model refund pathways.  

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