With the global trade landscape in flux, exporters must contend with changing tariffs, complex trade agreements, and uncertain supply chains. Fortunately, amid this turmoil, there’s a largely untapped financial tool: duty drawback.
Duty drawback is an effective tool that allows businesses to recover duties, taxes, and fees paid on imported goods they later export. However, many companies never file a claim despite billions of dollars in recoverable funds. For Simran Dalvi, this oversight is both a challenge and an opportunity. As an emerging voice in US trade compliance, she’s committed to changing how exporters perceive drawback.
“Drawback isn’t just a refund,” Simran says. “It’s a proactive trade finance strategy that can transform how businesses manage liquidity.”
Her journey toward establishing herself as a reputable authority in the field has been characterized by perseverance, adaptability, and a deliberate choice to engage in a domain often overlooked by compliance professionals.
International Reach, US Focus
Simran’s path began with legal training across various jurisdictions, including a stint at the United Nations campus in Europe. However, moving to the United States meant starting over, not because her credentials, education, and background in the field were lacking, but because she wanted to refresh her knowledge and make it more robust and precise.
Simran played a key role in identifying legal process flows, audit strategies, and compliance frameworks for exporters. Her work has helped companies recover millions in duties through targeted drawback strategies, while streamlining compliance workflows across more than 10 international markets, directly advancing global expansion objectives. She often navigated the complex Chapters 98 and 99 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule and helped companies understand Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) protocols. Her company, recognizing Simran’s value, offered her the opportunity to be trained in its core operations, enabling her to play a strategic role in supporting its international expansion.
Influencing the Field as a Whole
Simran’s expertise expanded in tandem with her reputation. She started to perceive a transformation. Simran was no longer merely interpreting the rules but influencing how others engaged with them.
“There was a moment when I went from decoding the system to influencing how others approached it,” she explains. “That’s when I knew my voice could drive real impact, especially for exporters looking to compete globally.”
Simran’s message is both urgent and empowering. Duty drawback should no longer be an afterthought; people must take present-tense action. When businesses incorporate risk planning into their supply chain, they can recover millions reliably, making a significant difference to their success.
“It’s not just about filing paperwork,” she notes. “It’s about aligning import-export documentation, manufacturing processes, and legal frameworks from the start.”
Navigating Rough Terrain
Over the past few years, the US customs landscape has become increasingly complex, driven by new trade agreements such as the USMCA, the growing use of bonded storage, and a surge in TradeTech solutions that streamline compliance tasks.
Simran perceives this complexity as an imperative for exporters to respond accordingly.
“These changes make the need for proactive drawback strategies even greater,” she adds. “If you’re not building systems now, you’re leaving money, and competitive advantage, on the table.”
Simran’s influence extends beyond her clients, fostering a broader discussion on modernizing trade compliance in a digital-first era.
A Brighter Future
Simran Dalvi’s work redefines how exporters approach one of the most underestimated opportunities in trade finance. By integrating legal expertise, operational proficiency, and strategic foresight, she helps companies transform compliance into a competitive advantage. Simran’s message is unequivocal in an unpredictable global economy: duty drawback is no longer an option but a strategic imperative.
“When you think of trade compliance as just ticking boxes, you miss the bigger picture,” she concludes. “When you see it as a lever for growth, that’s when you win.”
