The First Sale Rule: How Importers Who Buy Through Middlemen Can Legally Pay Less in Tariffs
Importers buying via a middleman can declare the factory's first-sale price to U.S. Customs and cut duties 10–20%, if every tier is documented.
#tariffs
Tariffs
Import duty rates, Section 301 and Section 232 tariffs, IEEPA actions, antidumping/countervailing duties, and tariff exclusions for U.S. importers
Who Pays the Tariff? How Incoterms 2020 (EXW, DAP, DDP) Decide Whether You or Your Supplier Eats the Duty
Under Incoterms 2020, DDP is the only rule where the seller pays import duties — under EXW, DAP, and every other term, the buyer absorbs each tariff change. This guide maps how each term allocates duty risk, why suppliers are shifting from DDP to DAP, and how to capitalize duties into landed cost under ASC 330.
Estée Lauder FY2026 Earnings: $15.0B Sales, a Return to Profit, and Restructuring Between the Margins
Estée Lauder FY2026: net sales $15.05B (+5% reported, +3% organic), net earnings $182M after a $1.13B loss, and adjusted EPS $2.51 (+66%). Fragrance grew 10% organic and mainland China 9%, gross margin expanded 150 bps to 75.5%, and the FY2027 adjusted operating margin guide was raised to 12.7%–13.5% — while the 6-point gap between 5.2% reported and 11.2% adjusted margin remains the story. Tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2022–FY2026.
HP Q3 FY2026 Earnings: $0.11 of Tariff Refunds Inside Both EPS Prints
HP Inc.'s Q3 FY2026 earnings — $15.677B revenue (+12.5%), GAAP diluted EPS of $0.71 and non-GAAP $0.83, both including $0.11 from $127M of IEEPA tariff refunds recorded as a reduction of Products cost. A double-entry Beancount breakdown that isolates the refund as its own posting.
Best Buy FY2027 Q2 Earnings: Comps +4.1%, GAAP EPS +70%, and a $34M Tariff Assist
Best Buy FY2027 Q2: revenue $9.78B (+3.6%), enterprise comps +4.1%, GAAP diluted EPS $1.48 (+70%) versus adjusted $1.47 (+15%). Roughly $0.41 of the GAAP jump is last year's restructuring base effect, and ~$34M of IEEPA tariff refunds (~$0.12 per share) supplies about two-thirds of the adjusted EPS growth. FY27 comps guidance rises to 1.9–3.0% and adjusted EPS to $6.70–$6.90, while inventories climb 8.3% to $6.3B — all tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2022–FY2027Q2.
Customs Bonds for New Importers: When a Single-Entry Bond Beats a Continuous Bond
A U.S. continuous customs bond must be at least $50,000 or 10% of the prior year's duties, taxes, and fees, whichever is greater, while a single-entry bond equals shipment value plus estimated duties and fees. This guide shows where the break-even falls (about four entries a year), why ocean freight needs a separate ISF bond, and how to book duties, MPF, HMF, and bond premiums as landed cost.
Dollar General FY2026 Q2 Earnings: $550M Profit on a 127 bp Margin Bridge
Dollar General FY2026 Q2: net sales $11.29B (+5.2%), same-store sales +3.5% on traffic +2.0%, and net income $550M (+33.8%). Roughly 81 of the 127 basis points of gross-margin expansion to 32.6% came from tariff refunds after reinvestments, diluted EPS of $2.48 includes an estimated $0.25 refund benefit, and full-year net-sales growth guidance was raised to 4.0%–4.3% — all tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2021–FY2026Q2.
Lululemon FY2026 Q2 Earnings: The First Shrinking Quarter of a Growth Brand
Lululemon FY2026 Q2: net revenue $2.416B (−4%), comparable sales −9% with Americas at −12%, and net income $329M (−11%). The 60.5% gross margin includes 560 basis points from $134.5M of IEEPA tariff refunds, inventories sit at $1,711M near the cycle high, and full-year guidance was cut to $10.35–10.5B — all tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2021–FY2026Q2.
TJX FY2027 Q2 Earnings: $15.2B Sales, 13.3% Pretax — and a 1.4-Point Tariff Asterisk
TJX FY2027 Q2: net sales $15.18B (+5%), consolidated comps +4% above plan, and net income $1.52B. Reported pretax margin of 13.3% includes a 1.4-point net IEEPA tariff-refund benefit ($331M refunds less $112M compensation accruals); adjusted pretax margin is 11.9%, up 0.5 points, and adjusted diluted EPS is $1.22 versus $1.36 reported. Cash ended at $6.0B, inventories at $7.86B with per-store +2% — all tracked in a public Beancount ledger spanning FY2022–FY2027Q2.
Etsy's New France Import Fee, Explained: What the End of Duty-Free EU Parcels Means for Your Prices and Your Books
The EU ended duty-free entry for parcels under €150 on July 1, 2026, France charges €2 per item type, and an EU-wide handling fee of about €2 per parcel arrives in November — Etsy collects the France fee at checkout but not the €3 duty. Here is what each fee costs on a real order and how to book pass-through fees, prepaid duties, and IOSS VAT correctly.
Foreign Trade Zones for Small Importers: Defer Duties, File Weekly, and Fix Inverted Tariffs
A Foreign Trade Zone defers duties until goods enter U.S. commerce, consolidates a week of shipments into a single Merchandise Processing Fee (capped at $651.50 for FY 2026 rather than charged per entry), and — with FTZ Board authorization — lets you elect the lower finished-good rate when component tariffs are inverted. Small importers reach all three as users of a 3PL magnet site, without activating a zone of their own.
When Steel and Copper Prices Move After You Bid: A Contractor's Guide to Estimates and Change Orders That Hold
Steel mill products are up roughly 21 percent and copper products 16–25 percent year over year after the April 2026 Section 232 tariff restructuring set a 50 percent duty on metal-heavy goods. This guide shows contractors how to break out metals as dated line items, tie escalation clauses to a published BLS index with clear thresholds and proof requirements, and run monthly job-cost reviews so price spikes become approved change orders instead of lost margin.