'It's a mess': Trump's tariffs 'not being collected' after major glitch hits ports

Trump's draconian new tariffs regime is now being delayed due to a "glitch" that has arisen at U.S. ports, CNBC reported on Friday, in the latest blow that threw even more uncertainty into how markets and international trade are functioning.

An alert sent out to shippers from U.S. Customs and Border Protection "notified users of a glitch in the system that is used to exempt freight from tariffs, including shipments from China that were already on the water at the time of this week’s whipsaw in tariffs policy, and any trade from nations now under the 90-day pause put in place by the Trump administration," reported Lori Ann LaRocco. "The alert explained that U.S. Customs discovered that the entry code for U.S. shippers to use to have their freight exempted is not working and 'the issue is being reviewed.'"

"Normally, when a U.S. importer pays for their freight, they file both the cargo release forms and their financial papers, so they can pay for their cargo. To keep the cargo moving, Customs is advising importers to file the cargo release form now, and file the financial form later, once the glitch is corrected," said the report. "For now, that means the tariffs are not being collected by the U.S. government."

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Shippers are expected to follow up with federal officials to pay the back tariffs once the issue is resolved, according to the report.

“It’s a mess, to simply state it,” Dewardric McNeal, managing director and senior policy analyst at Longview Global with a focus on international trade, foreign affairs and defense, told the outlet. “I don’t think it will slow down goods. But it will increase the paperwork for the U.S. companies who are suffering tariff whiplash. These companies will need to refile that at a later date. Trade will flow but at greater complexity.”

Trump's new tariff system, unveiled last week, imposes 10 to 49 percent import duties on virtually every foreign region in the world, including — for some reason — uninhabited volcanic islands off the coast of Antarctica with no trade or industry to speak of. The rates were calculated as a function of America's trade deficit with each country, even when that trade deficit isn't a result of another country's tariffs or other political trade barriers.

After days of plunging stock indices and grumblings of discontent from Trump's own party as experts forecast the increasing likelihood of a recession, Trump announced that for the next 90 days, only the lowest increase of 10 percent will be applied to all countries, except for China, whose goods will be taxed 145 percent.