Cofactr and Forge Team Up to Help You Recover Import Duties

If you're exporting products or launching to space, you might be sitting on millions in recoverable import duties without knowing it.

‍The Billion-Dollar Secret Most Companies Miss

Here's something most hardware companies don't realize. If you import components and then export your finished products, you're legally entitled to recover up to 99% of the duties you paid on those imported items. It's called duty drawback, and it's been around since 1789, making it America's oldest continuous trade program.

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Yet despite its potential financial impact, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection estimates that over $6 billion in eligible refunds go unclaimed every year. This is because the filing process is notoriously complex, typically requiring specialized customs firms and dedicated trade compliance teams.

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That's exactly the problem Forge set out to solve.

The Forge Story: From Rockets to Refunds

Founded by brothers Emir and Haris Sahmanovic, Forge emerged from their firsthand experience with the challenges of hardware supply chains.

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Emir, who serves as CEO, previously worked as a lead engineer designing and testing rocket engines at Blue Origin and Stoke Space. At Stoke, he was part of a small team that set records by achieving the fastest transition from seed funding to engine hot fire.

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CTO Haris brings software engineering expertise from his time at Facebook and Vanguard, creating the technical foundation for Forge's innovative approach.

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"We initially built software to help hardware companies manage everything involved in procurement and supply chain," explains Emir. "That's when we stumbled upon duty drawbacks and realized what a game-changer they could be—especially when the tariff wars started."

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Backed by Google and Y Combinator, Forge developed a white-glove service that handles the entire drawback process, from data collection to filing with CBP. The best part? They only take a percentage when refunds are received.

Why This Partnership Changes Everything

For Cofactr customers, this partnership eliminates the biggest hurdle in the drawback process—gathering and organizing import documentation. Since Cofactr already manages this data as part of its procurement and supply chain platform, most of the work is done from the start.

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The integration means eligible companies can:

• Start recovering duties with minimal effort
• Claim refunds on imports from up to 5 years ago
• Improve profit margins without changing operations
• Offset the impact of ongoing trade wars and tariffs
• Pay nothing until refunds are received

A Surprising Eligibility Detail for Aerospace Manufacturers

Here's a fascinating detail for our aerospace customers: permanently sending something to space officially counts as an export event and is drawback eligible. So those components in your satellites or space vehicles? You could be recovering duties paid on them.

How It Works

The process couldn't be simpler for Cofactr users:

1. Your import data already in the Cofactr system is securely shared with Forge
2. Forge identifies eligible drawback opportunities in your supply chain
3. Their team handles all paperwork, filing, and communication with CBP
4. When refunds arrive, Forge takes their percentage, and you keep the rest

The service covers traditional duties, Section 301 duties, reciprocal tariffs, and several additional import taxes (though not Section 232 or antidumping duties).

A Real-World Example of How Manufacturers Benefit

Consider this simplified example: 

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If Tesla imports 80% of the BOM for their Model 3 from suppliers outside the US, then for every Model 3 they export, they can file for refunds on all the duties and tariffs paid on that 80% of imported parts and materials.

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This same principle applies to companies of all sizes—from startups to enterprises—across hardware manufacturing, aerospace, electronics, and beyond.

Getting Started

If you're a Cofactr customer interested in exploring your duty drawback potential, the process begins immediately. Your existing import data can be analyzed to estimate potential recoveries, with no upfront commitment required.

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For hardware companies navigating increasing global tariffs and trade tensions, this partnership couldn't come at a better time. It's rare to find an opportunity to significantly improve margins without operational changes—this is one of those opportunities.

About Forge 

Founded by brothers Emir and Haris Sahmanovic, Forge is a Y Combinator and Google-backed company specializing in duty drawback recovery for hardware and manufacturing companies. Using proprietary software, Forge simplifies the complex process of duty drawback claims, helping companies recover billions in eligible refunds with a no-recovery, no-fee model.

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Want to learn more about recovering import duties through this partnership? Visit: https://www.forgehq.com/