Posted on 05/20/2025 9:10:56 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum
Summary
LONDON/NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Companies importing goods into the United States from China are rushing to convert warehouses into facilities that are exempt from President Donald Trump's tariffs until they are ready to sell the merchandise.
The U.S. has more than 1,700 bonded warehouses, facilities where imported goods can be held without immediate payment of customs duties such as tariffs, currently 30% for shipments from China. Such fees are only paid when the goods leave the bonded warehouse, allowing businesses to manage funds more effectively at a time of extreme trade policy volatility.
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The rush to bond U.S. warehouses for goods ranging from clothing to auto parts is a bet for some that raised U.S. tariffs will be only a short-term policy by the Trump administration.
Due to Trump's tariff war, many of these bonded warehouses are now at full capacity, and prices for space in them have skyrocketed, four industry sources told Reuters, prompting companies to apply to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to expand bonded space.
Utah-based fulfillment firm LVK Logistics, for instance, is in the process of making one of its warehouses bonded "in response to the tariffs," CEO Maggie Barnett told Reuters, adding she expects the process to take three to four months.
"You can bond more or less anywhere," said Chris Rogers, who manages the supply chain research team at consultancy S&P Global Market Intelligence. "It involves money and it takes time, but if you are a big company and expect tariffs are..."
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
This seems like the business opportunity I’ve been looking for. I always wanted a job where I get paid for doing nothing. This could be it! I’ll buy some storage buildings and call them bonded buildings and charge outrageous rent.
So what’s the story on “bonded whiskey”? A friend told me he saw it on a label at a liquor store.
The Bottled in Bond or “BIB” designation is one that holds a spirit to a fairly high standard. The Bottled in Bond or Bonded spirits standards are as follows: Must be aged for a minimum of four years. Must be bottled at precisely 100 proof (50% ABV). Must be made by a single distiller.
I think Old Granddad and Old Overholt are Bottled in Bond.
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