Simply Trade

Host: Lalo Solorzano
Guest(s): Kim Campbell, Mollie Sitkowski
Published: August 26, 2026
Length: 26 minutes
Presented by: Global Training Center

Summary
Canada-U.S. trade tensions are escalating again—and trade professionals on both sides of the border need to move quickly.

In this special episode of Simply Trade, host Lalo Solorzano is joined by Canadian trade expert Kim Campbell and Section 338 expert Mollie Sitkowski to break down Canada's newly announced retaliatory tariffs and what businesses should be doing before they take effect.

Kim explains Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliation strategy, including tariff increases affecting more than a thousand tariff lines and some products potentially facing significant additional costs. She also highlights an important distinction for traders: while CUSMA/USMCA qualification may reduce the underlying duty rate, it does not exempt goods from these retaliatory tariffs.

Mollie provides the U.S. perspective, including what businesses should understand about Section 338, origin determinations, classification reviews, and the risks of changing tariff classifications simply to escape today's tariff exposure.

Beyond customs compliance, the conversation examines the growing economic consequences of the dispute—from Canadian buying behavior and tourism to cross-border businesses and supply chains.

The message for trade professionals is clear: verify your data, understand your exposure, communicate with your customs partners, and watch official government guidance closely.

Main Topic / Discussion
Canada has announced retaliatory tariffs following the implementation of U.S. Section 338 measures. Kim Campbell and Mollie Sitkowski explain how the Canadian and U.S. measures interact, where CUSMA/USMCA does—and does not—provide relief, and what importers should review immediately.

Canada's Retaliatory Tariffs
Canada's response is designed around dollar-for-dollar retaliation. According to Kim, the new measures cover more than a thousand tariff lines and build upon earlier surtax measures, with some existing rates increasing substantially.

One particularly important point: CUSMA qualification does not eliminate Canada's retaliatory tariff. A qualifying product may receive a zero base duty rate while still being subject to the applicable retaliation rate.

Classification and Origin Matter
Both Kim and Mollie stress the importance of reviewing tariff classifications rather than assuming historical classifications are correct.

Mollie also cautions businesses against changing classifications simply because another tariff provision currently appears more favorable. Tariff measures can change quickly, and repeated classification changes without a defensible technical basis can create additional customs risk.

For U.S. Section 338 purposes, importers should also carefully review the applicable origin rules, including USMCA marking rules for Canadian goods.

Remission Opportunities in Canada
Canadian importers should determine whether an existing remission order applies to their goods. Businesses experiencing hardship or situations where goods cannot reasonably be sourced in Canada may also be able to apply for remission.

Importers should communicate proactively with their customs brokers. A broker cannot necessarily know that an importer qualifies for a remission unless the importer provides the necessary information and instructions.

The Bigger Cross-Border Impact
The consequences extend beyond duty bills. Kim describes a strong Buy Canadian movement, reduced Canadian travel to the United States, changes in consumer purchasing, and provincial restrictions affecting U.S. alcohol sales.

The longer these disruptions continue, the greater the possibility that businesses and consumers develop new purchasing habits and supplier relationships that may not immediately reverse when tariffs disappear.

Key Takeaways
• Canada's retaliatory tariffs are designed as a dollar-for-dollar response to U.S. trade measures, with implementation scheduled for September 8 as discussed in the episode.

• CUSMA/USMCA qualification may eliminate the normal duty rate, but it does not exempt qualifying goods from Canada's retaliatory tariff.

• Importers should verify tariff classifications, product descriptions, origin determinations, and eligibility for available Canadian remission orders.

• Do not reclassify merchandise simply to escape today's tariff list. Classification must remain technically supportable, and future tariff actions could change the economics again.

• Canadian importers that qualify for remission need to communicate that information to their customs brokers so the appropriate treatment can be applied.

• Businesses should monitor official government and customs guidance closely because implementation details and tariff measures can change quickly.

• The effects of the dispute extend beyond customs duties into tourism, consumer purchasing, cross-border communities, sourcing decisions, and long-term commercial relationships.

Resources & Mentions
• Global Training Center

• Finance Canada tariff and remission guidance — listeners should consult the current official Government of Canada guidance for the latest tariff lists, remission orders, and implementation details discussed in this episode.

• U.S. Customs and Border Protection guidance — monitor current official notices and implementation instructions relating to Section 338 and other applicable trade measures.

• Kim Campbell - LinkedIn

• Mollie Sitkowski - LinkedIn

Credits
Host:
Lalo Solorzano

Guest(s):
Kim Campbell - LinkedIn

Mollie Sitkowski - LinkedIn

Producer:
Lalo Solorzano

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Host: Andy Shiles
Guest(s): Jennifer Amos, President, Memphis World Trade Club
Published: August 24, 2026
Length: ~22 minutes
Presented by: Global Training Center

Summary
The Compliance Cowboy is riding into Memphis—and there’s a lot happening in one of America’s most important logistics hubs.

Simply Trade host Andy Shiles sits down with Jennifer Amos, President of the Memphis World Trade Club and Director of Sales at Dunavant Logistics, to talk about the growth, infrastructure, innovation, and people powering the Memphis logistics community.

At the center of the conversation is Memphis World Trade Week, including the Memphis Logistics Summit on September 30 and Tech Innovation Day and the 75th anniversary of Port Night on October 1. Jennifer explains how the World Trade Club, Greater Memphis Chamber, and Epicenter Memphis are bringing established industry leaders, technology startups, carriers, beneficial cargo owners, and logistics professionals together.

Andy and Jennifer also explore why Memphis continues to matter as a distribution hub—from rail and interstate connectivity to air cargo and the Mississippi River—and why logistics careers extend far beyond warehouses and trucks.

And yes, Andy plans to show up to Port Night the way longtime Memphis trade folks might remember him: cowboy hat, boots, and all.

Main Topic / Discussion
Memphis has long been a major transportation and distribution center, but its logistics community continues to evolve through new infrastructure, technology, talent development, and collaboration.

Jennifer Amos previews the Memphis World Trade Club’s upcoming events and explains how Memphis World Trade Week is designed to connect the different pieces of that ecosystem.

The conversation covers the September 30 Memphis Logistics Summit at the Peabody, followed on October 1 by Tech Innovation Day at Epicenter Memphis and the Memphis World Trade Club’s 75th Port Night in the Peabody’s Grand Ballroom.

Andy and Jennifer also discuss the value of face-to-face industry relationships. From monthly World Trade Club meetings to an event expected to attract logistics executives and professionals from around the world, Memphis provides opportunities to build a network—not just exchange business cards.

Key Takeaways
• Memphis remains a major logistics hub. Its combination of air cargo, Class I railroads, interstate connections, the Mississippi River, warehousing, and distribution infrastructure makes the region strategically important for freight movement.

• Memphis World Trade Week is growing. The September 30 Logistics Summit leads into an October 1 technology-focused event and the 75th anniversary of Port Night.

• Technology is changing logistics careers. The industry needs talent in IT, finance, analytics, operations, automation, technology, and other supporting disciplines—not just traditional transportation roles.

• Relationships still matter. Jennifer and Andy emphasize the value of industry organizations and in-person events for meeting decision-makers, sharing ideas, developing talent, and building long-term professional relationships.

Resources & Mentions
• Global Training Center

• Memphis World Trade Club

• Memphis Logistics Summit — September 30

• Tech Innovation Day — October 1

• Memphis World Trade Club 75th Port Night — October 1

• Greater Memphis Chamber

• Epicenter Memphis

Credits
Host:
Andy Shiles

Guest(s):
Jennifer Amos - LinkedIn

Producer:
Lalo Solorzano

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Host: Lalo Solorzano, Andy Shiles
Guest(s): Hugo Pakula
Published: TBD
Length: ~33 minutes
Presented by: Global Training Center

Summary
Customs compliance isn’t just getting more complicated—enforcement is getting smarter.

In this episode of Simply Trade, hosts Lalo Solorzano and Andy Shiles sit down with Hugo Pakula, founder of Tru Identity, to examine how technology, data, and changing enforcement priorities are reshaping the relationship between U.S. Customs and Border Protection, importers, and customs brokers.

The conversation explores a fundamental shift: being compliant may no longer be enough. Importers and brokers increasingly need to be able to demonstrate compliance through accurate data, documented controls, and processes capable of identifying risk before cargo reaches the border.

Hugo discusses why strong master data is becoming critical, how CBP's increasingly sophisticated approach to targeting changes the compliance equation, and why companies should focus less on simply processing more entries and more on building systems that balance speed, accuracy, and control.

The discussion also examines Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, and what heightened enforcement, supply-chain visibility, penalty policies, and risk-based scrutiny could mean for trade professionals.

The takeaway for leadership: compliance shouldn't be viewed only as a cost center. Done well, it can become a strategic advantage.

Main Topic / Discussion
From Reactive Compliance to Proactive Risk Management
For years, importers could discover a problem only after a shipment reached the port and CBP intervened. Hugo argues that the better model is identifying discrepancies earlier—before they become holds, penalties, audits, or costly delays.

That requires companies to think beyond simply processing transactions. Importers and brokers need reliable master data and processes capable of examining information across shipments, products, suppliers, and supply chains.

Being Compliant vs. Proving Compliance
One of Hugo's central points is that compliance now has two dimensions: doing the work correctly and being able to demonstrate that the work was done correctly.

As enforcement technology becomes more sophisticated, companies need the records, controls, and data to support their decisions. That becomes particularly important when CBP may have information about suppliers or deeper tiers of a supply chain that an importer does not immediately see.

Executive Order 14411 and Stronger Enforcement
The episode discusses Executive Order 14411, Strengthening Customs Enforcement, issued June 3, 2026. The order calls for a series of customs reforms, including heightened importer requirements, additional supply-chain disclosures, stronger enforcement measures, revised mitigation standards, and risk-based approaches to importers.

For importers and brokers, the message is clear: waiting until CBP identifies a problem is an increasingly risky strategy.

Back to the Basics: Better Data
Despite all the discussion about AI and automation, Hugo argues that the industry's future also looks surprisingly familiar.

Companies still need to answer foundational questions:

• What is the product?
• What is it made of?
• Who is involved in making it?
• What is its intended use?

Clean, structured master data around those questions can make it easier to respond when tariffs, trade remedies, enforcement priorities, or other requirements change.

Compliance as a Growth Lever
The episode closes with an important message for executives: compliance doesn't have to be treated purely as overhead.

Better compliance data can support impact analysis, sourcing decisions, forecasting, risk management, and more strategic relationships between importers and customs brokers. Freeing compliance professionals from constant reactive work can give them more time to deliver that strategic value.

Key Takeaways
• Being compliant isn't the finish line. Importers and brokers increasingly need to be able to demonstrate their compliance with reliable data and documented controls.

• Master data matters. Understanding product composition, manufacturers, suppliers, and other underlying attributes creates a stronger foundation for responding to changing trade requirements.

• Think proactively, not reactively. Finding a discrepancy before goods reach the border is far better than discovering it after CBP holds the cargo.

• Treat compliance as a strategic capability. Strong compliance can support better sourcing, forecasting, risk management, and business decisions—not just prevent penalties.

Resources & Mentions
• Global Training Center

• Tru Identity

• Tru Identity + U.S. Customs and Border Protection

• Executive Order 14411 — Strengthening Customs Enforcement

• Hugo Pakula — LinkedIn

Credits
Host:
Lalo Solorzano
Andy Shiles

Guest(s):
Hugo Pakula - LinkedIn

Producer:
Lalo Solorzano

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Host: Cindy Allen
Published: August 14, 2026
Length: Approx. 14 minutes
Presented by: Global Training Center

Summary
What if the country of origin rules trade professionals have relied on for decades were fundamentally redefined?

In this episode of Simply Trade: Cindy’s Version, Cindy Allen uses Taylor Swift’s “Tolerate It” as the backdrop for a consequential week in international trade. She begins with newly announced Section 232 duties affecting certain advanced drones, including a 100% duty rate for much of the world and different treatment for several trading partners.

But the heart of the episode is a potentially much bigger shift: the administration’s evolving approach to “transshipment” and component-level country of origin. Cindy examines an August 13 opinion column from senior trade adviser Peter Navarro and a companion White House paper, explaining why their arguments could challenge long-established substantial-transformation principles.

If this approach becomes policy, importers could face dramatically more complex reporting requirements—potentially identifying the origin, value, tariff treatment, and trade-remedy exposure of individual components inside finished products.

For trade professionals and manufacturers, Cindy’s message is clear: understanding your supply chain down to the component and raw-material level may become more important than ever.

This Week in Trade
• New Section 232 duties target certain advanced drones, with a 100% rate for much of the world and different treatment for specified trading partners.

• Additional component-level duties related to the drone action could take effect in February 2027.

• Peter Navarro’s “It Was a Great Scam While It Lasted” challenges traditional thinking around transshipment and imported components.

• A proposed shift toward component-level origin and tariff treatment could significantly change importer compliance, supply-chain visibility, and entry processes.

Main Topic / Discussion
The central issue is a potentially fundamental change in how the United States approaches country of origin, substantial transformation, and transshipment.

Traditionally, country-of-origin determinations can recognize that foreign components incorporated into a product in another country have undergone a substantial transformation. Cindy uses the example of a Chinese-made motor incorporated into a recliner manufactured in Canada: under established origin principles, the finished chair may be considered Canadian rather than treated simply as a collection of its original components.

The administration’s emerging position, as Cindy describes it, could take a different approach—potentially requiring importers to account for certain underlying components, their countries of origin, values, and applicable tariff measures.

The practical question is where such tracing would stop. For complex products such as automobiles, would importers need to separately account for engines and transmissions? Semiconductors and electronics? Spark plugs? Raw materials?

For trade professionals, this could mean a substantial expansion of the data needed to support an import declaration and a much deeper examination of multi-tier supply chains.

Cindy connects the issue to Taylor Swift’s “Tolerate It”: the trade community is watching major policy changes unfold while trying to understand how established trade practices may be transformed.

Key Takeaways
• Country-of-origin rules and the substantial-transformation standard could become a major focus of future trade policy and enforcement.

• A broader definition of transshipment could create significant compliance implications for manufacturers and importers using globally sourced components.

• Importers should increasingly understand their products beyond the finished-good level, including component origin, value, and potentially raw-material sourcing.

• Technology and supply-chain data providers may become even more critical if future requirements demand deeper component-level reporting and tariff analysis.

Resources & Mentions
• Global Training Center

• Peter Navarro — “It Was a Great Scam While It Lasted” (New York Times opinion column, August 13, 2026)

• White House companion paper addressing trade, transshipment, and component-level imports

• Section 232 trade measures concerning certain advanced drones

Credits
Host:
Cindy Allen

Guest(s):
N/A

Producer:
Lalo Solorzano

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Host: Lalo Solorzano and Andy Shiles
Guest(s): Ken Roberts and Tatiana Panzardi
Published: August 13, 2026
Length: ~35 minutes
Presented by: Global Training Center

Summary
The latest U.S. trade numbers are in—and they reveal an economy being reshaped by artificial intelligence, tariffs, changing supply chains, and new patterns in global commerce.

In this quarterly trade update, Lalo Solorzano and Andy Shiles welcome back trade-data expert Ken Roberts, joined by Tatiana Panzardi of WorldCity, to unpack U.S. Census Bureau trade data through the first six months of 2026.

The numbers tell a fascinating story. U.S. trade is up, Mexico is firmly positioned as the nation's leading trading partner, and Port Laredo has returned to the top among U.S. trade gateways by value. But perhaps the biggest shift is happening in technology: computer imports have surged as companies pour billions into AI infrastructure and data centers, changing rankings that were historically dominated by oil and automobiles.

At the same time, passenger-vehicle imports and exports are feeling the effects of tariffs and changing automotive policy.

Beyond the statistics, this episode asks the question that matters to trade professionals and business leaders: What do these numbers mean for your sourcing, markets, contracts, and growth strategy?

Main Topic / Discussion
U.S. trade is undergoing a structural shift.

Ken and Tatiana walk through the latest trade data and explain how AI investment, tariffs, energy, automotive trade, and supply-chain realignment are changing which commodities, countries, and ports dominate U.S. commerce.

One of the clearest signals is the extraordinary growth in computer imports. Through the first six months of 2026, the episode reports computer imports at approximately $194.4 billion, compared with roughly $101.4 billion during the same period in 2025. Much of that growth is tied to servers and infrastructure supporting AI data centers.

Meanwhile, Mexico remains central to U.S. trade, while Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian economies are becoming increasingly important within changing global supply chains.

The automotive story looks different. Passenger-vehicle imports have declined amid tariffs, while exports to several major markets have also weakened. The discussion explores what that means for specialized automotive ports and for companies navigating higher costs and shifting demand.

Ultimately, the hosts bring the data back to business strategy: understanding trade trends can help companies identify new export markets, rethink sourcing, anticipate supply-chain changes, and spot opportunities before competitors do.

Key Takeaways
• AI is rewriting the U.S. import rankings. Massive investment in servers and data-center infrastructure has pushed computers ahead of categories such as passenger vehicles and oil, illustrating how quickly AI investment is affecting physical trade flows.

• Mexico's importance continues to grow. Mexico ranks as the leading U.S. trade partner in the data discussed, including its critical role in both imports and exports, while Port Laredo has again become the nation's leading trade gateway by value.

• Supply chains continue shifting away from China. Taiwan, Vietnam, South Korea, and other Asian markets are taking increasingly prominent positions as tariffs, technology investment, and sourcing strategies reshape longstanding trade patterns.

• Trade data should be a business-development tool. Importers, exporters, executives, and small-business owners can use commodity, country, and port data to identify growing markets, sourcing opportunities, emerging demand, and potential risks.

Resources & Mentions
• Global Training Center

• USTradeNumbers

• Ken Roberts on Forbes

Credits
Host:
Lalo Solorzano
Andy Shiles

Guest(s):
Ken Roberts - LinkedIn
Tatiana Panzardi - LinkedIn

Producer:
Lalo Solorzano

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