Prepare customs documentation and ensure that shipments meet all applicable laws to facilitate the import and export of goods. Determine and track duties and taxes payable and process payments on behalf of client. Sign documents under a power of attorney. Represent clients in meetings with customs officials and apply for duty refunds and tariff reclassifications. Coordinate transportation and storage of imported goods.
U.S. Workers
1,128,200
Median Salary
$81,270
10-Year Growth
+3.0%
Annual Openings
108,200
Typical entry: Bachelor's degree
22 of 23 tasks have some AI capability
Exposure Trend
This score reflects estimated AI technical capability for tasks in this occupation. It does not predict employment changes, and it does not account for company-specific constraints, regulation, or adoption barriers.
Prepare and process import and export documentation according to customs regulations, laws, or procedures.
AI: Fully automatable - Robotic process automation combined with rule engines and LLMs can generate, validate, and submit import/export documentation in accordance with customs rules, enabling full automation of document preparation and processing.
Pay, or arrange for payment of, taxes and duties on shipments.
AI: Fully automatable - Payment initiation and arranging payment of taxes and duties can be fully automated via integrated payment APIs, escrow and treasury systems, and authorized financial workflows.
Calculate duty and tariff payments owed on shipments.
AI: Fully automatable - Given tariff codes, values, and rules, rules engines and AI can accurately calculate duties and tariff payments, allowing full automation of the computations.
Request or compile necessary import documentation, such as customs invoices, certificates of origin, and cargo-control documents.
AI: Fully automatable - Automated workflows and integrations with partners, portals, and document repositories allow AI to request, fetch, and compile necessary import documentation end-to-end.
Quote duty and tax rates on goods to be imported, based on federal tariffs and excise taxes.
AI: Fully automatable - Given accurate product classification and current tariff/excise tables, AI can compute and quote duties and taxes automatically and at scale.
Arrange for transportation, warehousing, or product distribution of imported or exported products.
AI: Fully automatable - Arranging transportation, warehousing, and distribution can be fully automated by AI through logistics optimization, carrier/warehouse API integrations, and booking systems.
Monitor or trace the location of goods.
AI: Fully automatable - Monitoring and tracing shipments can be fully automated by integrating carrier tracking APIs, EDI/telemetry, and alerting systems.
Provide advice on transportation options, types of carriers, or shipping routes.
AI: Fully automatable - AI systems in 2025 can analyze routes, carrier types, schedules and constraints and provide actionable transportation and routing advice autonomously.
Suggest best methods of packaging or labeling products.
AI: Fully automatable - AI can evaluate product characteristics, regulatory labeling requirements and logistics constraints to recommend packaging and labeling methods end-to-end.
Clear goods through customs and to their destinations for clients.
AI: Partial - AI can prepare filings, submit electronic entries, and coordinate logistics, but complete customs clearance often requires licensed-broker authority, discretionary decisions, or in-person inspections that limit full automation.
Classify goods according to tariff coding system.
AI: Partial - AI can accurately suggest HS/tariff codes from descriptions and images in many cases, but complex, ambiguous, or legally significant classifications still require human expert judgement or rulings.
Stay abreast of changes in import or export laws or regulations by reading current literature, attending meetings or conferences, or conferring with colleagues.
AI: Partial - AI can continuously monitor, summarize, and notify about regulatory changes but cannot fully replace the human professional networking, judgment, and conference participation aspects of staying abreast of regulations.
Advise customers on import and export restrictions, tariff systems, insurance requirements, quotas, or other customs-related matters.
AI: Partial - AI can generate detailed, up-to-date guidance on restrictions, tariffs, and requirements, but nuanced, liability-bearing legal/advisory judgment and final determinations require a licensed human broker.
Post bonds for the products being imported or assist clients in obtaining bonds.
AI: Partial - AI can automate bond paperwork, match sureties, and coordinate submissions, but posting bonds involves financial transactions, authorization, and risk decisions that typically need human or institutional control.
Confer with officials in various agencies to facilitate clearance of goods through customs and quarantine.
AI: Partial - AI can prepare filings, correspondence, and supporting documentation to facilitate clearance, but direct negotiation and high-stakes liaison with agency officials still require human intervention and relationship management.
Inform importers and exporters of steps to reduce duties and taxes.
AI: Partial - AI can analyze options (classification, valuation, trade agreements, duty mitigation programs) and recommend duty-reduction steps, but these strategies require human oversight for legality, implementation, and risk assessment.
Obtain line releases for frequent shippers of low-risk commodities, high-volume entries, or multiple-container loads.
AI: Partial - AI can prepare and submit applications and maintain compliance documentation for line releases, but final approvals and program enrollment decisions rest with authorities and often need human coordination.
Contract with freight forwarders for destination services.
AI: Partial - AI can draft contracts, shortlist forwarders and automate communications, but cannot autonomously enter binding agreements or manage complex commercial negotiations and trust relationships.
Apply for tariff concessions or for duty drawbacks and other refunds.
AI: Partial - AI can prepare and populate tariff concession and drawback applications and compute eligibility, but submitting, certifying and legally representing claimants usually requires human authorization and oversight.
Insure cargo against loss, damage, or pilferage.
AI: Partial - AI can compare policies, generate insurance recommendations and complete application paperwork, but binding insurance purchases and complex claim adjudication still require human/legal actions and approvals.
Prepare papers for shippers to appeal duty charges.
AI: Partial - AI can assemble evidence and draft appeal documents for duty disputes, but formal legal filing, representation and court interactions generally need licensed human practitioners.
Maintain relationships with customs brokers in other ports to expedite clearing of cargo.
AI: Partial - AI can automate communications, scheduling and information sharing with other brokers, but sustaining relationships and resolving nuanced port-specific issues requires human relationship management.
Sign documents on behalf of clients, using powers of attorney.
AI: Not automatable - Signing on behalf of clients using powers of attorney requires legal authorization and binding signatures that AI cannot autonomously provide or lawfully execute.