Have you considered how your company will be affected by the increase in U.S. import tariffs? Let’s explore how cross-border logistics and freight are impacted, possible strategies to implement, and how partnering with expert providers like EP Logistics helps you balance tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico and maintain your supply chain efficiency and profitability.
What’s driving the tariff pressure in US-Mexico trade?
Tariffs don’t just raise prices, they can also make cross-border operations slower. Companies might:
- Move production to lower-cost countries, even if it means slower delivery times.
- Choose to do fewer shipments, taking a longer time for items to become available.
- Need to look for alternate routes.
- Shipments might need additional paperwork.
Tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico have become more challenging in the past few years, especially for industries that manufacture across both countries.
Whether it is auto parts, consumer electronics, retail inventory, or food and beverages, the changing policy landscapes are creating a need to implement new logistics strategies.
The effect of tariffs on cross-border trucking also impacts cross-border trucking since it affects time-sensitive and high-volume shipments.
From policy to practice: How tariffs hit the supply chain
The changes in tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico affect the whole supply chain due to:
- Landed cost increases. This means the total cost of a product once it arrives, including freight, duties, and other fees, will be higher.
- Inventory turnover slows down. Slowdowns, rerouting, and other delays mean companies won’t be able to restock as quickly, and some items might become understocked.
- Time-sensitive deliveries suffer. Industries that rely on fast delivery are more likely to experience delays, missed deadlines, and additional costs for large-volume shipments.
The customs duties and the cost ripple effect
Tariffs don’t just mean paying more; they also mean stricter attention to aspects such as classification and valuation to avoid overpaying. For example, even one misfiled Harmonized System (HS) code can lead to fines, delays, or rejections.
Customs brokerage services are becoming more and more important to avoid errors. Working with experienced customs brokers can help you navigate tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico more easily, ensuring efficiency and minimizing the risk of penalties, delays, and shipment holds.
Cost impact: Where tariffs affect your logistics budget most
One of the main impacts of increasing tariffs in the U.S. is the hit your budget takes. Careful analysis of your current resources, services, and routes will be needed so you can make a plan that allows you to modify your operations towards cost-effective but reliable solutions.
Here’s how tariffs and cross-border logistics Mexico costs are correlated:
Higher transportation and freight rates
Businesses focusing on tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico are often forced to reroute their shipments to avoid high tariffs.
But these detours usually mean longer distances, mileage, driver time, and fuel consumption, making freight rates increase.
As a result, route optimization for freight is shifting from finding the fastest path to finding cost-effective secondary routes, even if that means dealing with slower deliveries.
Delays at the border
Delays are more likely to happen as paperwork and customs requirements increase and inspections become stricter. This means a heightened risk of penalties and shipment holds.
Logistic teams handling tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico are now focusing on strategies to reduce delays at the border and to help mitigate their impacts once they occur to minimize supply chain slowdowns.
Warehousing challenges
Many companies trying to balance out tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico are holding more inventory in border areas, inside local warehouses, which means a need for more warehouse space and storage capacity.
This increases warehousing solutions prices, especially if your warehousing provider doesn’t offer scalability as an option.
6 Strategic ways to mitigate tariff-related logistics challenges
So, how to reduce customs duties for Mexico shipments? Here are five strategies that can help you face the new tariff policies and keep tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico balanced out.
1. Work with customs brokerage experts
Consider working with a proven, experienced 3PL that offers customs brokerage services. This will ensure your shipments are properly classified, stay compliant, avoid penalties and holds, and oversee your paperwork is complete.
Our team of expert customs brokers has over 20 years of experience dealing with both Mexico and U.S. customs, having wide knowledge of regulations, requirements, and possible challenges to sort out.
We also stay up to date with compliance changes and HS code classification to avoid costly misfiling and help you save resources wherever it is possible.
2. Optimize freight routes & modal mix
Strategic route planning is key. Finding alternative routes that are both cost-efficient and reliable is one of the best strategies to implement.
At EP Logistics, we use specific route optimization for freight to help you identify the best routes that avoid tariff-heavy corridors, with optimized mileage, and ensure deliveries are always on time.
Our freight solutions offer you the flexibility to maximize your resources. Whether you choose air, ocean, road freight, or intermodal transportation, we help you to design the best cross-border path that adapts to your specific need and help you reduce costs significantly.
3. Use bonded warehousing to delay duties
By using bonded warehousing solutions for tariff compliance, you can:
- Delay duty payments until goods are sold or exported elsewhere.
- Have more control over your cash flow.
- Have more time to plan and see where the demand is or when prices are better before moving your products.
- Avoid taxes if you are exporting to another country.
EP Logistics has different bonded facilities strategically located along the U.S. and Mexico border, so you can have the freedom of managing your inventory according to your immediate needs, allowing you to better use your resources.
4. Consolidate shipments to cut fees
Another way to balance tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico is through shipment consolidation. This means grouping smaller shipments into one larger load to reduce per-unit duty costs and improve cargo utilization.
5. Use a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) to reduce duty costs
Another smart strategy is using a Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ). It lets you delay or avoid paying duties on imported goods until they enter the U.S. market, or skip them entirely if you re-export. FTZs help improve cash flow and reduce tariff costs. EP Logistics can help you explore FTZ options that fit your supply chain.
6. Invest in real-time visibility tools
When dealing with tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico, knowing what is happening with your shipment in real time is key to being able to respond to challenges fast and stay compliant.
Our solutions at EP Logistics come already integrated with real-time shipment visibility tools, so you have better control over your items along the supply chain for faster response and smarter rerouting.
Long-Term resilience: Adapting supply chains beyond tariffs
Besides responding to the effects of high tariffs, you can also look beyond short-term fixes and implement long-term strategies that permanently increase the efficiency of your supply chain, despite tariffs changing or not. For example:
Shift toward nearshoring & regionalization
Nearshoring manufacturing to Mexico is a way to accelerate your business, reducing the reliance on Asia and reducing exposure to global tariff turbulence. This shift also helps you cut shipping times and costs while simplifying your logistic operations.
Integrated cross-border warehousing
Taking advantage of warehouse locations that are strategically placed between Mexico and the U.S. for faster transportation and customs clearance is ideal.
At EP Logistics, we operate integrated facilities in El Paso and Cd. Juárez, for warehousing solutions closer to both borders for a faster and better moving of your goods across borders.
Another great advantage of this cross-border warehouse is that it offers you safe storage, packaging, inventory management, and fulfillment so you can take advantage of having everything in one place, speeding up your supply chain.
Supplier diversification & agile fulfillment
Supply chain diversification means managing multiple suppliers and implementing flexible fulfillment processes that can quickly adapt when needed according to tariff changes or changes in demand.
At EP Logistics, we give you access to a great network of carriers and suppliers to help you plan for the best ways to handle tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico.
How 3PL partners like EP Logistics help you stay competitive
Having an experienced provider like EP Logistics can help your company stay competitive and compliant no matter what tariff, safe harbor 2025, or other changes in compliance and regulations come up by providing you with:
Freight optimization & hot shot capabilities
EP Logistics specializes in time-sensitive freight with expedited options that will help you avoid delays, minimize the risk of shipment holds, and ensure your items always arrive on time.
We use strategic route planning to ensure your supply chain keeps moving despite congestion and bottlenecks.
Value-Added services to balance costs
As one of the best 3PL providers near the US-Mexico border, we want to make managing tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico the easiest possible for you.
That’s why we also offer complimentary services like raw material kitting, custom packaging, and pre-assembly, which help reduce the total landed costs so you can find every solution needed in one place.
One-Stop cross-border management
Our comprehensive logistics solutions cover everything you need to optimize your supply chain under one roof so you can better deal with tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico.
From warehousing, transportation, customs brokerage, fulfillment, advanced technology, and visibility tools, we’ve got you covered!
All of our services come integrated with the best tools to enhance your operations and can be fully customizable to suit your specific business and industry needs.
Turn tariff challenges into supply chain opportunities
Tariffs and cross-border logistics in Mexico change constantly, but staying competitive is easier with the right strategies, the guidance of a trusted partner, and logistics solutions that offer you flexibility and scalability.
If you are ready to reduce your tariff impact while enhancing your operations, Give our team at EP Logistics a call and let us help you design a more profitable and smarter cross-border strategy!
