Kyle Grobler helps companies leverage best practices to achieve efficiencies and adhere to complex regulations. An internationally recognized global trade professional and featured speaker at AIAG’s upcoming webinar on May 8, 2025, titled “North American Tariffs: Strategies for Trade Success,” Grobler has robust expertise in auditing, duty recovery and mitigation, strategic planning, and helping businesses achieve cost savings and operational improvements. In this exclusive interview, Grobler shares strategies for navigating the latest tariff challenges and shares highlights from the upcoming webinar.
AIAG: With all that’s going on in the international trade community, what is your overall message to automotive OEMs and suppliers?
Grobler: My No. 1 message is to be proactive. Proactiveness always wins.
AIAG: But what if they have no idea what to do first?
Grobler: That's a great question. Most companies don't know what to do right now. I'm a big advocate for auditing — auditing your imports, auditing your exports, and by doing so, you'll get a good lay of the land. You'll be able to identify your suppliers and where you could be doing better. You can then question things like classification and origin determination. That’s a good place to start.
AIAG: Are you able to share your opinion of the current U.S. trade policy?
Grobler: It's my job as a trade professional to act according to the law. I'm not a policy maker, therefore I can't change anything. We have to deal with the cards that we've been dealt. By being proactive and understanding and interpreting the law, we can use those interpretations to try and mitigate risk and to decrease the effect on our customers, our supply chain, and our overall operation. Companies should have already been proactive, looking at their valuation, country of origin, and classification.
AIAG: And if they haven’t, are they too late?
Grobler: It’s never too late to be compliant. There’s no better time than now if you haven't been compliant up to this point. Start today. Question your suppliers, question classification, question documentation, question the processes and procedures. We must come together collectively and work through some of the obstacles that we've been presented with.
AIAG: When someone tunes into the AIAG virtual event on tariffs and trade in May, what can they expect to get from your talk?
Grobler: The talks is about all things associated with compliance right now. We will discuss what being proactive actually looks like. We will talk about what things to look out for in your supply chain, how to mitigate risk, and how to make sure you remain effective and efficient, while at the same time saving money.
We're living in a world where lots of obstacles have been thrown at us — it's difficult to navigate, and I understand that. But by adopting some simple procedures and processes, you can mitigate risk and have the financial benefit. It’s all very complicated — in addition to all the new laws and regulations making it feel even more daunting — but by following a few simple steps and procedures, you can successfully navigate the turmoil.
Register now for AIAG’s May 8th webinar, “North American Tariffs: Strategies for Trade Success.”
