Customs Compliance Specialist

7:00 AM- You begin by checking the status of pending international shipments. Two containers are on customs hold. You review the documentation for potential issues and find a minor error in the commercial invoice. You contact the freight forwarder to resend corrected paperwork before demurrage charges kick in.

8:00 AM- You hold a short call with your customs broker to review current clearance timelines and ensure proper documentation is in place. You clarify a product classification that was misfiled and confirm a new tariff code. A single digit off can cause a week of delays or worse.

9:30 AM- You update your compliance tracker with the latest HTS code revisions. Regulatory changes in Europe now affect several SKUs. You notify sourcing and logistics teams to ensure all entries going forward use the updated codes and are priced correctly to avoid penalties.

11:00 AM- You review upcoming export shipments for licensing needs and embargo restrictions. A shipment to Southeast Asia requires an EAR classification check. You complete the documentation and confirm that no licenses are required, but flag the shipment for extra screening just in case.

12:30 PM- Lunch is a desk-side scan of a few trade advisory updates and your inbox. One of your overseas partners has sent new country-of-origin declarations for raw materials, so you verify them and file updates for future compliance audits.

2:00 PM- You conduct a mini training session with the warehouse team on proper labeling for export cartons. Errors in markings have led to customs slowdowns, and visual training helps reduce recurring mistakes. You prefer proactive education over after-the-fact corrections.

3:30 PM- You compile data for your monthly compliance report—filing accuracy, brokerage cost breakdowns, and customs delay incidents. You see a trend forming around certain commodity classifications and decide to schedule a root cause analysis next week.

5:00 PM- You review end-of-day customs entries and file electronic export information in AESDirect. One shipment still lacks a Certificate of Origin. You follow up with the supplier before the truck departs to avoid costly export delays.

6:30 PM- You wrap by archiving compliance records and sending a summary of today’s customs interventions to management. Compliance is about anticipating friction and clearing it before it becomes a fire. Your success is measured in problems that never happen.