Rethinking Tariffs: A Subscription Model for Access to the U.S. Market

For over a century, tariffs have been the primary tool the United States has used to regulate and monetize imports. They’ve been used to protect domestic industry, retaliate against foreign practices, and fund government operations. And while plenty of previously redacted free trade agreements have broadly ditched sweeping tariffs, they’ve had a resurgence more recently due to geopolitics, strategic realignments and voter sentiment. But in today’s fast-moving, globally connected economy, this tool is increasingly outdated — difficult to manage, politically volatile, and often counterproductive.

And we think it’s due time to explore a smarter approach. What if, instead of tariffs, the U.S. offered a subscription-based model for market access?

Introducing Trade-as-a-Service

Under this model, countries or importers would pay a recurring subscription fee to gain access to the U.S. market under simplified and preferential conditions. The U.S. would of course continue to control its borders and import policy, but it would shift from transactional taxation (tariffs) to a membership-based framework that incentivizes compliance, reduces friction, and generates stable, recurring revenue.

Think of it like Costco for global trade — tiered access, transparent pricing, and real-time scalability to gain access to the US market.

How TaaS Could be a Game-Changer

1. Reduced Bureaucratic Overhead

Tariff enforcement today relies on a massive apparatus of customs agents, lawyers, trade classification systems, freight forwarders and dispute resolution channels. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) has over 19,000 codes, each with different rates and exceptions – wait, what?!? That’s right, CBP must not only inspect goods but determine classification, country of origin, exemptions, and more before determining the appropriate tariff to be levied. You then add on top of that reciprocal tariffs to be accounted for and the whole enterprise is tougher than landing a jet on an aircraft carrier!

On the other hand, a flat or tiered TaaS model removes that complexity. Instead of calculating duties for every product line, importers or partner nations would prepay access rights based on data-informed tiers linked to the volumes they are importing — freeing CBP to focus on security and compliance rather than taxation.

2. Stable, Predictable Revenue

Tariff income fluctuates with trade volumes and is vulnerable to political escalation. For example, in 2020, tariff revenue dropped sharply due to COVID-19-related trade slowdowns — even as customs enforcement costs stayed constant.

Whereas a TaaS model provides fiscal predictability, with contracts structured over annual or multi-year terms. This enables better infrastructure planning, trade forecasting, and international cooperation not to mention steady, recurring revenue flows for government coffers.

3. Policy Leverage Without Retaliation

We have all seen how tariffs can be used punitively — but this typically provokes retaliation, harming unrelated industries (e.g., the U.S.-China trade war). A subscription-based model would allow the U.S. to suspend or revise access fees in response to violations of trade rules, labor laws, or environmental commitments — without triggering automatic tit-for-tat tariffs.

It becomes a form of non-escalatory soft power — economic diplomacy over economic warfare which can keep trade conflicts from spilling over into military rows. As it turns out, steady, recurring revenue flows have a way of keeping the hawks of all stripes at bay.

4. Digital-Era Compatibility

One thing’s for sure, the traditional tariff model was designed for importing goods at a time when global trade networks did not nearly represent the degree of economic interdependence we now see between countries. Additionally, this model was not designed for cross border trade of services or digital goods — both of which now make up a significant portion of global and US commerce. A TaaS subscription framework is platform-agnostic, covering both physical and virtual trade, including cross border (read remote / virtual) services on which the US has become increasingly reliant. It’s also extensible to APIs, software licensing, and even AI model access between economies. 

Key Challenges That Must Be Addressed

Of course there are some open questions that need worked out in order to successfully deploy a TaaS subscription framework. Some of this will require political will though none are insurmountable from my perspective.

1. WTO Most-Favored-Nation Rules

Under WTO rules, Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) principles prevent discrimination between trading partners — and prohibit "disguised barriers" to trade. A U.S. subscription model could be challenged as non-compliant unless it: 1) is offered non-discriminatorily, 2) maintains a tariff-based alternative (default rules for non-subscribers), and 3) is structured as a facilitation fee, not a market “paywall”. All doable as the subscription can be redacted to encourage and stimulate the trade governments seek while ensuring the expected, predictable revenue flows.

2. Pricing Equity and Access

This is a great opportunity to further cement our values through trade without assuming the overhead of managing tariffs on the border. But it does need to be flexible enough to recognize differing “pricing tiers” depending on the Country of Origin. Would a small Latin American exporter pay the same as a massive East Asian multinational? Should Least-Developed Countries (LDCs) be subsidized or exempted?

All great questions to be accounted for though a tiered pricing system could align with GDP, trade volume, or rule-of-law scores — rewarding good behavior and participation in norms-based trade.

Potential tiering examples:

3. System Integrity and Enforcement

Even with a subscription model, customs enforcement wouldn't disappear. Non-subscribers could still attempt to transship goods through subscriber countries. Thus, the framework should accommodate: 1) tamper-resistant digital tracking (blockchain anyone?), 2) trusted trader programs to incentivize transparency and 3) real-time customs data exchange between governments which include IoT backed provenance data for imports.

Fortunately, many of these technologies already exist and can even be found in Aquatio Software’s solutions.

Concluding Thoughts

In the digital economy, frictionless access matters more than ever. As supply chains digitize and geopolitics evolve, the U.S. should lead in innovating not just what we trade — but how we trade.

We believe the most pragmatic path forward is a dual, hybrid approach to global trade in order to relieve the border of the overhead involved with enforcing tariff policy. The goal isn’t to end tariffs — it’s to modernize trade infrastructure around incentives, predictability, and shared digital workflows. A subscription model for market access won’t solve all challenges at the border though it will bring trade policy into the 21st century – one membership tier at a time!