U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) “certainly has a huge task on its hand,” said a CBP Spokesperson in a statement to SupplyChainBrain April 12. “However, the agency is uniquely positioned to implement and enforce the President’s tariffs using all our enforcement and revenue collection authorities.”

The spokesperson said that CBP successfully implemented 13 tariff-related presidential actions during the Trump Administration and “each day collects over $200 million in tariff revenue.”

This contrasts with President Donald Trump’s widely reported claims April 8 that the new tariffs were bringing in $2 billion per day. 

The challenge of altering the amounts due for collection on imports as the tariffs imposed change from one day to another – sometimes within a single day – were highlighted over the weekend when a glitch in the CBP system appeared to impose import duties on goods that should have been exempt. These included all freight that was on the water before an April 5 and April 9 deadline, including freight already on the way from China and any nations now under a 90-day reprieve. CNBC reported on April 11 that the glitch had been fixed, after 10 hours.

CBP said it enforces tariffs through a combination of legal authority, advanced systems, and operational procedures designed to ensure that duties owed are paid.  “We have fulfilled the demand and remain committed to facilitating legitimate trade while upholding a robust enforcement posture.”