Zaidi

Those levies went into effect March 4 — the day Zaidi’s pallet of 1,000 bottles arrived at the port of entry in Laredo, Texas.

The rapid back-and-forth caused confusion at the border crossing, Zaidi said, as customs authorities figured out how to assess shipments that had arrived during the brief window of time that the tariffs were in place.

“They didn’t know how much we had to pay,” said Zaidi, the owner of Back Alley Imports.

Zaidi had hoped the one-month pause would mean he’d be let off the hook.

Back in December, alcohol importer Raza Zaidi in San Francisco placed an order for a pallet of gins, liqueurs and bitters from a Mexican spirits producer.