AAEI CEO Predicts Classification Will Be Automated Soon, Digital Transaction Tariff Moratorium Will End

American Association of Exporters and Importers CEO Marianne Rowden believes automation is going to replace a lot of tariff classification work over the coming years. “Will human beings be doing tariff classification in the next three to five years? I don't think so -- I think it’s all going to be done by machine,” Rowden told a National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones online conference Feb. 9. She also predicted that the moratorium on customs duties on digital transactions, such as downloads of games or movies, will end in the medium term. “Every two years there is a vote at the World Trade Organization on the moratorium on customs duties on digital transmissions,” she said. “I think we’re going to lose that vote probably within the next five to six years because governments, particularly developing countries, are so desperate for revenue.”