Doors Open & Continental Breakfast

Start Day 2 with fresh coffee, a light breakfast, and another chance to explore the Exhibit Hall before programming begins. It’s a relaxed way to ease into the morning, reconnect with colleagues, and visit exhibitors before the day’s sessions get underway.

Sponsored by TBD.

Welcome to Day 2 & Opening Remarks

Our Breakfast Sponsor will open Day 2 with brief welcome remarks and set the tone for the morning’s programming. Attendees will hear a quick overview of key themes shaping the day before sessions begin.

CBP Fireside Chat (off-the-record) 

Kicking off with an introduction by Charter Brokerage, this fireside chat will feature a senior leader from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for a candid discussion on the agency’s priorities for the year ahead. The conversation will focus on CBP’s core policy goals, including strengthening enforcement, advancing trade facilitation, modernizing systems like ACE, and enhancing supply chain transparency and security. Attendees will gain valuable insight into how CBP is balancing enforcement with efficiency, as well as what importers and exporters should expect in an evolving compliance environment.

Sponsored by   

The New Geopolitical Reality: Trade Impacts & Strategic Responses (off-the-record)

From the escalating Middle East conflicts and energy shocks to rising cyberattacks, AI-driven threats, and state-backed economic strategies, today’s geopolitical environment is redefining global trade. Supply chains are increasingly exposed not only to tariffs and sanctions, but also to infrastructure risk, and rapid policy shifts. This panel will examine how these forces—alongside growing protectionism—are reshaping market access, compliance expectations, and investment decisions. Speakers will share advanced strategies for managing geopolitical risk, strengthening resilience, and navigating an increasingly complex and volatile trade landscape.

Speakers

• Amy Morgan, VP of Trade, Altana
• Alan Bersin, Former CBP Commissioner
• Hera Abbasi, Vice President, Government Affairs and Policy, Mastercard

 Sponsored by

Voices at the Table: Strategic Roundtable Discussions 1 

Join focused, small-group discussions on today’s most pressing trade compliance challenges. Topics include managing routed orders, navigating export controls and sanctions, leveraging AI in compliance programs, addressing forced labor and intellectual property enforcement, and strengthening partnerships with brokers and freight forwarders. These interactive sessions provide a strategic forum to exchange insights, benchmark approaches, and learn real-world solutions alongside peers and industry experts.

Maximizing Tariff Savings Through Smarter Sourcing & Origin Strategies 

Companies are rethinking global sourcing to reduce tariff exposure and improve landed costs. Explore fast, practical strategies involving substantial transformation, qualification for special tariff programs, supplier data validation, and scenario planning to reduce tariff liability. 

Sponsored by TBD. 

Export Licensing Efficiency: Streamlining Processes Without Adding Risk

Many exporters struggle with lengthy licensing cycles and internal bottlenecks. This rapid-fire session focuses on tools, workflows, and documentation strategies that shorten turnaround times, reduce errors, and enhance coordination between engineering, legal, supply chain, and compliance teams.

Sponsored by    

Voices at the Table: Strategic Roundtable Discussions 2 

Missed the first roundtable discussion?  Don’t worry! Join focused, small-group discussions on today’s most pressing trade compliance challenges. Topics include managing routed orders, navigating export controls and sanctions, leveraging AI in compliance programs, addressing forced labor and intellectual property enforcement, and strengthening partnerships with brokers and freight forwarders. These interactive sessions provide a strategic forum to exchange insights, benchmark approaches, and learn real-world solutions alongside peers and industry experts.

Most companies are still missing significant refunds. This session breaks down modern drawback approaches, data requirements, and new technologies that help importers move from occasional claims to continuous duty recovery. Learn how to turn drawback into a strategic tool for cash flow and cost savings.

Sponsored by   . 

Automation isn’t just about speed, it’s about reducing errors and improving audit readiness. This rapid-fire session highlights the core areas where AI and automation deliver the biggest ROI: classification accuracy, documentation integrity, and proactive flags for potential compliance gaps.

Sponsored by  

Networking Lunch in the Exhibit Hall

Take a midday break and enjoy lunch while exploring the Exhibit Hall. This is a great opportunity to meet with exhibitors, continue conversations from the morning sessions, and connect with fellow attendees before programming resumes. 

Sponsored by TBD. 

Enforce and Protect: Managing EAPA Investigations in an Era of Heightened CBP and DOJ Scrutiny

As CBP intensifies EAPA enforcement and the Department of Justice increases its focus on trade fraud, companies face rising operational, financial, and legal risk. Tariff evasion, transshipment, and country-of-origin misrepresentation are drawing greater cross-agency scrutiny, with potential civil and criminal consequences. This session will examine what triggers investigations, how CBP and DOJ coordination is reshaping enforcement, and what legal, compliance, and supply chain teams must do to proactively manage exposure and respond effectively.

Sponsored by TBD

Enforcement Is Getting Smarter. Is Your Export Program Keeping Up?

Sponsored by TBD. 

Charting the Next Horizon: Trade Risks and the Compliance Imperative for 2027–2028 (off-the-record)

The next two years could redefine global trade. From shifting tariffs, expanded export controls, and sanctions escalation to election-driven policy changes tied to the 2028 presidential campaign and congressional races, companies face growing uncertainty. The 2028 U.S. presidential election and full congressional cycle are already positioned to become major inflection points for trade policy and enforcement priorities. This panel will explore the geopolitical, regulatory, and political events most likely to shape 2027–2028—and what compliance, legal, and supply chain leaders must do now to stay resilient, proactive, and prepared.

Sponsored by TBD. 

Closing Remarks/Event Close

AAEI Leadership will close the conference with final reflections on the themes, insights, and discussions that shaped this year’s program. Attendees will leave with key takeaways, a look at what’s ahead for AAEI and the trade community, and a heartfelt thank-you for being part of this year’s gathering. A perfect wrap to two days of learning, connection, and shared purpose.

Drawback and Duty Deferral Committee Annual In-Person Meeting

Join AAEI members for a focused discussion on the latest regulatory and operational issues affecting drawback and duty deferral programs. This meeting will include engagement on matters involving U.S. Customs and Border Protection drawback leadership to address key industry concerns. This year’s priorities include IEEPA Tariff Refund updates, proposed changes to drawback and refunds, delays in privilege applications and rulings, inconsistencies in drawback filing guidance, and export manifest requirements for proof of export.