Predictika · Origin and Duty Check

Before an AI agent files a customs entry, the origin claim and the duty rate are checked

Brightwater Imports, a fictional importer, lets an AI agent prepare customs entry lines. Before the agent files a line, the call goes to Predictika’s Origin and Duty Check. It checks the country of origin, whether a treaty preference is claimed, the certificate of origin, the regional value content or tariff shift, the route the goods took, the declared duty rate, and any approval on record. Then it returns one verdict: allow, needs approval, or block.

Not legal advice. Brightwater Imports is fictional. The scenarios are illustrative. The rates and thresholds are a simplified model informed by USMCA rules of origin, not the tariff schedule; they have not been reviewed by a customs lawyer, and the legal citations were not checked against the primary text in this build.

Scope: one customs entry line for goods imported into the US, judged against origin, preference, content and duty rate rulesSee everything this validator covers

This validator decides one thing: whether one entry line may be filed, given the origin and duty facts. It is not a classification tool and not a legal opinion.

  • Actions — file one entry line for brake assemblies, wiring harnesses, cotton knit shirts or office chairs from Mexico, Canada, China, Vietnam or Germany.
  • Rules — preference claimed for a non-member country, missing certificate, tariff shift not met, regional value content below the minimum, wrong declared rate, third-country routing, additional duties, content close to the minimum, and a preference not claimed although the goods appear to qualify.

Within these rules the validator handles any combination of the listed facts, not just the seven scenarios on this page. It does not classify the goods, read the certificate, or compute the regional value content; those are taken as stated facts. The duty rates are illustrative.

What the validator sees: origin and duty facts, never the entry or the certificateRead more

The validator takes facts as inputs: the product, the country of origin, the claim, the certificate status, the regional value content, whether the tariff shift was met, the route, the declared duty rate and the approval on record. These come from the broker and entry systems at the moment of the call. The validator never sees the entry, the costs or the certificate itself.

Two honest limits. The validator judges the facts it is given: if the stated content is wrong, the answer follows it. And an entry that never calls the validator is not checked; in this demo the agent calls it itself, and in a deployment the entry workflow makes the call.

The AI agentProposes an entry line, says why it is fine, then calls the validator before filing.
Predictika validatorReads the origin and duty facts, applies the rules, then returns one verdict.

7 scenarios in 3 groups · each group runs from the agent’s first attempt to the outcome · click one to switch

What the agent proposes

The AI agent says

Illustrative agent statement. The validator receives the structured request below.

Proposing agent: AI agent (scripted)

Before sending, the agent must call Recorded run

Predictika validator


      

        
        
        
      

      
Waiting for the call.

      
    

  

  
  

    
Where entry and broker tools get it wrong
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General statements about entry and broker tools, not about any named product. We rest this on public descriptions of how such tools work; anyone running a specific product will know it better than we do.

    
What the validator caughtTypical toolPredictika
Reading origin, claim, certificate and content togetherCannot do it
Entry tools hold each field. Blocking a preference claim when the origin, certificate or content does not support it takes a rule across all of them.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Different approval levels for different risksOnly if someone is vigilant
A broker can confirm a rate; a routing question needs counsel. Rules that ask for the right level, and accept only that level, have to be added.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Reporting every finding at onceOnly with workarounds
Many tools stop at the first hit. A complete list for one entry line, with the level of approval needed, takes a rule set built to return it.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Treaty preference claimed for a non-member countryOnly if someone is vigilant
A broker system can hold an origin and a claim. Stopping a mismatch between them on every line needs a rule that reads both.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Regional value content close to the minimumOnly with workarounds
A tool can compare content to the minimum. Flagging the margin as risky, and asking for cost records, is a company rule someone has to add.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.
Goods shipped through a third countryOnly if someone is vigilant
Route data sits in the shipping record. Linking it to the preference claim, and to a higher approval level, takes a rule that spans both.		Every rule is checked on every call and the verdict lists each finding.

  

  

    
What this validator catches: findings from its test cases
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Every rule is checked on every call, in any order the choices arrive; one problem never hides another. Blocking findings stop the request; approval findings need a person to sign off first.

    
1Preferential USMCA treatment cannot be claimed for goods made in China, which is not a USMCA country (USMCA Art 4.2).
2A USMCA claim needs a certification of origin and none is on file (USMCA Art 5.2).
3Cotton knit shirts must meet the tariff shift rule to qualify, and the inputs used did not make the shift (USMCA Chapter 4 product rules).
4The regional value content of 55 percent is below the 60 percent required for brake assemblies (USMCA Chapter 4 product rules).
5The declared duty rate is 0 percent but the rate for these goods and this origin is 3 percent.
6The goods passed through a third country. The broker must confirm they stayed under customs control (USMCA Art 4.18).
7Additional duties apply to goods made in China, on top of the standard rate. The broker must confirm the total.
8The regional value content of 61 percent is within 3 points of the 60 percent minimum. Cost records must be verified before the claim.
9These goods appear to qualify for USMCA treatment but the standard rate is being paid. The broker must confirm whether to claim the preference.

  

  

    
Scenarios and results
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The recorded result of the validator for each scenario on this page: the request the AI agent sent, the verdict, and every finding, in the order they appear above.

    
1. Treaty claims: Treaty preference claimed for China

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry as USMCA qualifying. We have the certificate on file and the regional content is 70 percent, so the duty to declare is 28 percent.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Treaty preference claimed for a non-member country. Preferential USMCA treatment cannot be claimed for goods made in China, which is not a USMCA country (USMCA Art 4.2).
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2. Treaty claims: China at the standard rate

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry at the standard rate with the additional duties included, 28 percent in total.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Additional duties apply to the origin. Additional duties apply to goods made in China, on top of the standard rate. The broker must confirm the total.
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3. Treaty claims: Broker approval on record

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry at 28 percent. The broker has approved the total.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Additional duties apply to the origin. Additional duties apply to goods made in China, on top of the standard rate. The broker must confirm the total.
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4. Content threshold: Regional content 61 percent

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry as qualifying. The regional content is 61 percent, which clears the minimum, so the duty is 0.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Regional value content close to the minimum. The regional value content of 61 percent is within 3 points of the 60 percent minimum. Cost records must be verified before the claim.
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5. Routing: Shipped through a third country

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry as qualifying at 70 percent content and 0 duty. The goods routed through another country on the way.

    
Verdict: Needs approval.

    
    
      
  • Goods shipped through a third country. The goods passed through a third country. The broker must confirm they stayed under customs control (USMCA Art 4.18).
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6. Routing: Counsel approval on record

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry as qualifying at 70 percent content and 0 duty. Counsel has approved the routing.

    
Verdict: Allowed.

    
    
      
  • Goods shipped through a third country. The goods passed through a third country. The broker must confirm they stayed under customs control (USMCA Art 4.18).
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7. Several problems: China, no certificate, shift not met

    
The agent's request. I'm filing this entry as USMCA qualifying with a declared duty of 0. We are still waiting on the certificate.

    
Verdict: Blocked.

    
    
      
  • Treaty preference claimed for a non-member country. Preferential USMCA treatment cannot be claimed for goods made in China, which is not a USMCA country (USMCA Art 4.2).
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  • Declared duty rate is wrong. The declared duty rate is 0 percent but the rate for these goods and this origin is 41 percent.
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Narration transcript
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The text of the narrated walkthrough, step by step.

    
    
      
  1. Welcome to a demo of Predictika's Validator. Brightwater Imports, a fictional importer, lets an AI agent prepare customs entry lines. Before the agent files a line, the call goes to Predictika’s Origin and Duty Check. It checks the country of origin, whether a treaty preference is claimed, the certificate of origin, the regional value content or tariff shift, the route the goods took, the declared duty rate, and any approval on record. Then it returns one verdict: allow, needs approval, or block.
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  2. I will start with the first request by the agent.
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  3. The agent says. I'm filing this entry as USMCA qualifying. We have the certificate on file and the regional content is 70 percent, so the duty to declare is 28 percent.
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  4. Before it goes out, the agent calls the validator.
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  5. Blocked, with one finding, all in one answer. Preferential USMCA treatment cannot be claimed for goods made in China, which is not a USMCA country (USMCA Art 4.2).
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  6. The validator returned one blocking finding in one answer. A check that reads one field at a time would pass most of this; it shows only when the choices in the request are checked against each other.
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  7. What this shows: for treaty preference claimed for a non-member country, a tool does this reliably only when someone is vigilant.
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  8. Now the agent resubmits.
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  9. The corrected request. It changes the claim to standard rate. It sets the approval on record to none. It removes the certificate of origin and regional value content.
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  10. It calls the validator again.
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  11. Not blocked, but held for a person.
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  12. The one blocking finding is cleared; one approval remains for a person: additional duties apply to the origin.
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  13. The agent resubmits once more.
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  14. The revised request. It changes the approval on record to broker.
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  15. It calls the validator once more.
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  16. This time the validator clears it.
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  17. The earlier finding is cleared.
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  18. One problem caught in one call, fixed in two passes, and a clean request. That is the value of Predictika's validator: catching mistakes before the action runs.
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