Can Agents Work?

Jobs / Management and business operations / 13-1041.08

Customs Brokers

Prepare customs documentation and ensure that shipments meet all applicable laws to facilitate the import and export of goods. Determine and track duties and taxes payable and process payments on behalf of client. Sign documents under a power of attorney. Represent clients in meetings with customs officials and apply for duty refunds and tariff reclassifications. Coordinate transportation and storage of imported goods.

US jobs
417,070 (SOC 13-1041 group, "Compliance Officers")
Median wage
$80,730 a year
Job family
Management and business operations

Can agents do the work of customs brokers?

We read the evidence at the level of the job family, Management and business operations:

  • Task levelPartialOnly adjacent evidence. On TheAgentCompany, which gives agents workplace tasks inside a simulated software company, the best agent resolves 42.9% of tasks (a November 2025 result). No task-level benchmark in our collection maps directly to management or business operations.
  • Project levelPartialMixed. OpenAI reports that GPT-5.5's GDPval deliverables won or tied against professionals' work in 84.9% of comparisons, and the best agent passes 73.5% of APEX-Agents tasks on the first try. Running a business is weaker: on Vending-Bench 2 the best model ends a simulated year with $15,515, about a quarter of Andon Labs' estimate for a good strategy.

Benchmarks for the job family

These cover work in management and business operations, not always this occupation's tasks.

Typical tasks

From O*NET 31.0. Core tasks first. Few of these tasks have a benchmark today.

  • Pay, or arrange for payment of, taxes and duties on shipments.
  • Classify goods according to tariff coding system.
  • Clear goods through customs and to their destinations for clients.
  • Prepare and process import and export documentation according to customs regulations, laws, or procedures.
  • Stay abreast of changes in import or export laws or regulations by reading current literature, attending meetings or conferences, or conferring with colleagues.
  • Calculate duty and tariff payments owed on shipments.
  • Confer with officials in various agencies to facilitate clearance of goods through customs and quarantine.
  • Obtain line releases for frequent shippers of low-risk commodities, high-volume entries, or multiple-container loads.
  • Request or compile necessary import documentation, such as customs invoices, certificates of origin, and cargo-control documents.
  • Advise customers on import and export restrictions, tariff systems, insurance requirements, quotas, or other customs-related matters.
  • Sign documents on behalf of clients, using powers of attorney.
  • Post bonds for the products being imported or assist clients in obtaining bonds.
Other job titles for this occupation (41)

Broker · CCS (Certified Customs Specialist) · Corporate Licensed Broker · LCB (Licensed Custom Broker) · LCB (Licensed Customs Broker) · Air Export Agent · Air Export Operations Agent · Air Import Agent · Cargo Agent · Cargo Broker · Cargo Office Agent · CBP Agent (Customs and Border Patrol Agent) · Customs Agent · Customs Analyst · Customs Brokerage Agent · Customs Brokerage Coordinator · Customs Brokerage Entry Writer · Customs Brokerage Representative · Customs Brokerage Specialist · Customs Compliance Analyst · Customs Compliance Specialist · Customs Consultant · Customs Entry Specialist · Customs Entry Writer · Customs House Broker · Customs Specialist · Export Administrator · Export Agent · Export Coordinator · Export Specialist · Exporter · Import Administrator · Import Agent · Import Coordinator · Import Specialist · Importer · International Trade Specialist · Ocean Export Agent · Ocean Import Agent · Ocean Import Representative · Ocean Import Specialist