A look at the experts racing to decode Trump’s tariff rules

After a half-century immersed in the world of trade, customs broker Amy Magnus thought she’d seen it all. From lumber and bananas to circus animals and Egyptian mummies, she had navigated countless regulations and logistical challenges. Then came 2025.

“2025 has changed the trade system,” says Magnus. “It wasn’t perfect before, but it was a functioning system. Now, it is a lot more chaotic and troubling.”

Customs brokers, once hidden cogs in the international trade machine, have been thrust into the spotlight as President Donald Trump reinvents America’s commercial ties with the world. These professionals are experiencing the front lines of what many consider a trade war, dealing with an unprecedented pace of policy changes and regulatory uncertainty.

In the opening days of Trump’s second term, brokers witnessed tariffs announced on Canada and Mexico, only to see those same levies paused two days later. They’ve had to adapt to new rules on imports of steel and seafood, cars and copper, polysilicon and pharmaceuticals—translating each policy shift into practical application, line by line and code by code.

“We were used to decades of a certain way of processing, and from January to now, that universe has been turned kind of upside-down on us,” explains Al Raffa, a customs broker in Elizabeth, New Jersey, who helps shepherd container loads of cargo into the U.S.—everything from rounds of brie to boxes of chocolate.

The regulatory landscape has grown exponentially more complex. Shipments that once entered duty-free now face tariffs. Items that previously incurred minimal fees of a few hundred dollars now generate bills in the thousands. Raffa notes that the expanding list of tariffs means a single product could be subject to multiple tax obligations.

“That one line item of cheese that previously was just one tariff, now it could be two, three, in some cases five tariff numbers,” says the 53-year-old broker, who proudly displays a button reading “Make Trade Boring Again.”

The unpredictability of policy announcements has created unprecedented challenges. Traditionally, trade regulation changes were issued well in advance of implementation, with formal comment periods and carefully crafted language. Under the current administration, major policy shifts might be announced via Truth Social posts or impromptu Rose Garden appearances.

“You’d be remiss not to be looking at the White House website on a daily basis, multiple times a day, just to see what executive order is going to be announced,” Raffa says.

JD Gonzalez, a third-generation customs broker in Laredo, Texas, and president of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America, points to another challenge: the vague language in many of these orders.

“The order is kind of vague sometimes, the guidance that’s being provided is sometimes murky, and we’re trying to make the determination,” says the 62-year-old industry veteran.

The impact has been financial as well. As brokers’ work has grown more complex and time-consuming, many firms have begun charging customers more for their services. “You double the time,” Gonzalez notes, referring to the increased effort required to track each item on a bill of lading.

Compounding these difficulties, the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting initiatives under Elon Musk have led to layoffs and retirements of trusted government workers that brokers traditionally relied upon for guidance. A government shutdown further slowed operations at ports, and some federal employees have become cautious about interpreting tariff rules, fearing they might fall out of step with the administration.

Magnus has been particularly perplexed by policy decisions that seem to contradict established trade relationships. “Canada as adversary? Switzerland subjected to 39% tariffs? It defied how she had come to see the choreography of cargo and what it says about the world,” she reflects.

For Magnus, who joined a brokerage in 1992 after 18 years at U.S. Customs, the precision of trade rules had always provided comfort. “We don’t like to have any doubt, we don’t like to leave anything up to interpretation,” she says. “When we ourselves are struggling, trying to interpret and understand the meaning of some of these things, it is a very unsettling place to be.”

Despite the challenges, there has been a silver lining for these professionals who long operated in obscurity. The public now has a greater appreciation for their role in the global supply chain.

“It was maybe taken for granted how that wonderful piece of gourmet cheese got on the shelf, or that Gucci bag,” Raffa observes. “Up until this year, people were clueless what I did.”

For Magnus, the relentless pace has prevented her from taking a vacation this year. Weekend plans have been so frequently disrupted by Friday afternoon policy announcements that it’s become an industry joke. “It’s Friday afternoon,” she quips. “Is everybody watching?”

Just hours after that comment, the White House issued another order undoing a slew of tariffs on agricultural products—sending brokers scrambling once again.