Talking Trade with Sandi Siegel, ME Dey & Co.

The latest episode of “Talking Trade” features Sandi Siegel, president and managing director of ME Dey & Co., a Milwaukee-based customs broker. 

Siegel, typically one of the show’s co-hosts, is interviewed by fellow host Ken Wasylik, managing director of E.M. Wasylik Associates. The discussion focuses on how Siegel’s company is advising clients on navigating the uncertain tariff landscape. 

She shares insights on where tariffs stand on certain key commodities such as steel and aluminum, as well as how importers are being impacted under the current framework. 

“Everybody’s in need of working with their suppliers, and even big importers are challenged, you know, to work with their foreign suppliers,” she said, noting ME Dey & Co. is urging its clients to work with suppliers to ensure they have critical sourcing information to avoid higher tariffs. 

Siegel also pointed to the rising requirements from government agencies about supply chain transparency and the burden it places on importers, noting some of these tougher regulations are aimed at limiting the role of forced labor in supply chains. 

“You want to be able to show due diligence, right, but again, now more than ever there’s a price tag for not being able to get that information,” she said. 

The conversation underlines the importance of understanding each link in a given supply chain, as Siegel references rapid changes happening in U.S. policy. 

“It’s very hard to have supply chain resiliency in today’s environment … because we don’t know what’s around the corner,” she said.