And Where Insurance Programs Feel It First
Tariffs are back in the spotlight, and for food importers and exporters the impact is rarely confined to a single line item. When duty rates move quickly, the effect shows up across landed cost, working capital, customs compliance, and—often overlooked—how certain insurance programs respond when a loss occurs.
It’s worth clarifying upfront: there is no “tariff insurance.” Tariffs are government-imposed duties. But changing tariff levels can materially influence two areas that food companies rely on for predictable outcomes:
- Ocean cargo valuation (how a claim is measured and paid), and
- Customs bond requirements (how much surety capacity you must carry to keep importing smoothly).
With policy shifting again in February 2026—including a move to a temporary import surcharge authority capped at 15% and limited to 150 days unless Congress extends it—the broader theme for importers and exporters is volatility.
The New Backdrop: Tariff Policy Is Moving Fast
February 2026 introduced a notable policy pivot: the White House framed the new approach around Section 122 authority for a temporary surcharge, which is time-limited by design. Reuters also notes the constraints: a cap at 15% and a 150-day window without congressional extension.
For food businesses, speed matters. Your decisions are tied to lead times, shelf life, temperature controls, and contractual commitments. Even when tariffs later unwind, the operational disruption can be immediate.
Why Food Importers & Exporters Feel Tariff Turbulence Quickly
One reason tariffs hit food so quickly is that imported content runs through the system more than many people realize.
USDA’s Economic Research Service estimates U.S. consumers spent $2.9 trillion on food and beverages in 2023. Direct imports accounted for 15% of that spend, and an additional 4% of the domestically produced portion reflected “embedded imports.”
That means tariff changes can pressure:
- importers of finished foods,
- ingredient buyers,
- packaging-dependent brands,
- co-packers sourcing globally, and
- distributors whose “domestic” products contain imported inputs.
At the same time, international trade volumes remain large—and sensitive to policy change. Reuters reported the U.S. imported a record $263 billion in agricultural and related goods in 2024, with exports at $191 billion. Even when your company isn’t a “big importer,” you’re operating in a system where trade costs and friction can transmit quickly.
Where The Insurance Conversation Becomes Real: Valuation And Required Limits
Tariffs aren’t insured as a reimbursable expense. The relevance of insurance is structural: tariff swings can change whether the financial outcome of a disruption matches what your team expects.
Two pressure points consistently rise to the top.
1) Ocean cargo valuation: when duty spikes distort “replacement cost reality”
Most food importers understand they need marine cargo protection. Fewer understand how valuation mechanics can create gaps during extreme duty periods—especially if a loss happens during a high-tariff window.
The core issue: “landed cost” and “claim value” aren’t always the same thing
In many cargo program structures, loss settlement is based on defined valuation terms (and may include an added percentage intended to account for incidentals typically CIF+10%). When tariffs surge beyond what that buffer was meant to absorb, the claim outcome can fall short of what it costs to replace the goods at that moment.
That’s not an academic point. It’s the exact kind of mismatch that becomes visible only after a loss—when everyone assumes “cargo insurance = full replacement cost,” but the valuation framework is narrower than the current landed cost reality.
Why this is amplified in food
Food cargo losses rarely occur in neat, isolated ways. They occur in environments where:
- ports congest,
- inspections extend dwell time,
- containers are handled repeatedly,
- temperature controls are stressed, and
- goods deteriorate in ways that create disputes (partial damage, quality claims, shortened shelf life).
Why Stock Throughput and Ocean Cargo structure becomes more important in volatile periods
When trade lanes shift and storage points multiply, “patchwork” coverage can create unintended gaps (one policy for warehouse stock, another for ocean transit, another for inland moves). Stock Throughput (STP) and Ocean Marine Coverage are marine structures designed to insure goods across the supply chain—from production through final destination—which is particularly relevant for importers/distributors/exporters managing multiple touchpoints.
The takeaway: tariff swings don’t change whether cargo insurance is “important.” They change whether your valuation assumptions still align with your true exposure—especially for high-value or temperature-sensitive food products.
2) Customs bonds: a hidden cost center that moves with duty exposure
The second place tariff shifts show up—often immediately—is in customs bond requirements.
Customs bonds aren’t optional for many import operations. They’re a compliance gate: without proper bonding, shipments don’t move the way they should.
What’s changing when tariffs change
U.S. Customs and Border Protection explains that continuous bonds are generally calculated at 10% of duties, taxes, and fees paid for a 12-month period. CBP also publishes monetary guidelines that describe fixing bond amounts in relation to duties/taxes/fees, referencing the same general 10% framework.
So when duty exposure increases materially, many importers are forced to increase bond limits to stay in compliance. And when duty exposure falls, the renewal cycle is often when limits can recalibrate.
The practical point for food importers
This is not simply administrative. Bond requirements affect:
- annual surety planning and renewal timing,
- compliance posture,
- and friction in the import process—especially for companies importing frequently.
Even if premium changes aren’t dramatic, the operational effect can be. Higher bond requirements can mean scrambling for capacity, paperwork, and approvals at the exact moment you’re trying to keep product flowing.
The takeaway: if your bond is up for renewal during a period of lower projected duties, the required limits may be materially different than during a peak-tariff environment—making renewals a meaningful checkpoint for importers who were forced upward during earlier spikes.
Why These Two Issues Matter More Than “Tariffs” In Day-To-Day Operations
Most tariff conversations stay at the headline level. For food importers and exporters, the more consequential story is how tariffs act as a risk amplifier:
- They compress decision cycles (reroute faster, source faster, ship faster).
- They increase contract disputes (“who eats the duty?”).
- They tighten working capital (duties paid upfront).
- They heighten operational friction (clearance, inspections, dwell time).
- They increase the probability that a disruption becomes a financial event.
And while tariffs themselves are not an insurable loss, tariff-driven environments can expose misalignment in:
- cargo valuation expectations, and
- compliance-driven bonding requirements.
Those are solvable problems—when they’re identified before a loss
Protect Your Import/Export Program Against Tariff-Driven Disruption
At Coughlin Insurance Services, we help food importers, exporters, and distributors structure insurance programs that stay resilient when tariff policy shifts and supply chains tighten. Since 1947, we’ve supported food businesses navigating complex global exposures—where changing duty levels can affect cargo valuation outcomes, customs bond requirements, and the true cost of getting product to market.
Our team understands the practical pressure points behind tariff volatility: multi-modal handoffs, port delays, temperature-sensitive transit, and the gap that can appear when insured values don’t match real landed costs during higher-duty periods. We also work closely with importers to align customs bond strategies with their broader risk program—so compliance requirements don’t become an operational bottleneck at renewal.
If your company moves food across borders, we can review your current marine cargo or stock throughput structure, confirm valuation and limit assumptions, and identify where small adjustments can prevent costly surprises during the next disruption. Contact us today to evaluate your coverage and ensure your food trade program is built to withstand changing tariffs, shifting routes, and the operational realities of modern import/export logistics.