Trump has imposed a lot of tariffs. But here's why collecting them can be hard

President Trump implemented high tariffs on imports aiming to boost U.S. manufacturing, yet tax collection remains problematic due to overwhelmed agencies and innovative evasion tactics from exporters. The persistent tariffs, notably on China, have led to heightened smuggling, as companies are increasingly incentivized to circumvent regulations. Practices like transshipping—routing goods through third countries—are commonly employed to dodge tariffs. This reality has frustrated American businesses, as they find their competitors' prices unchanged despite the tariffs, prompting them to seek ways to compete effectively in a challenging market.

There is going to be more incentive for companies to attempt to skirt the law. The incentive for bad actors to act worse or for previously good actors to skirt the law that incentive is just increasing.

After Trump's 25% tariffs hit, what we realized was the price [of our competitors] didn't change. And so that put me on a path to try to understand how that was possible.

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