Tariff Trade Change Digest | Federal Register + HTS Monitor

Managing international ecommerce logistics requires constant vigilance over Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes and import regulations. This dedicated web scraper automatically monitors USITC HTS releases, USTR notices, and the Federal Register to extract crucial trade data directly from the source. When you run this scraper, it captures every new ruling, agency update, and document type, allowing you to quickly spot policy changes that might affect your supply chain costs or shipping margins.

Designed for ecommerce operations, freight forwarders, and procurement teams, this tool eliminates the need to manually browse dense government websites. You can easily schedule daily digests to scrape target keywords or specific commodity updates. The scraper navigates the official pages, pulls out the vital details, and structures the data into a clean, searchable format. Every execution delivers precise outputs, including the issuing government agency, publication dates, official docket numbers, and direct URLs to the original notices.

Integrate these automated digests into your daily operations to ensure no tariff hike catches your business off guard. You can export the extracted data seamlessly into your existing logistics platforms or set up webhook alerts to notify your team the instant a relevant trade policy shifts. Protect your bottom line by using reliable, automated tools to extract essential regulatory data.

Store Quickstart

Run this actor with your target input. Results appear in the Apify Dataset and can be piped to webhooks for real-time delivery. Use dryRun to validate before committing to a schedule.

Key Features

• 🏛️ Government-sourced — Pulls directly from official agency feeds — no third-party aggregators
• ⏱️ Timely digests — Daily/weekly rollups of new filings, rulings, or actions
• 🔍 Keyword watchlists — Flag items matching your compliance/legal watch terms
• 📊 Structured metadata — Agency, date, docket, document type, link — all dataset-ready
• 📡 Webhook alerts — Push to legal/compliance teams the moment new items match watchlist

Use Cases

Who	Why
Developers	Automate recurring data fetches without building custom scrapers
Data teams	Pipe structured output into analytics warehouses
Ops teams	Monitor changes via webhook alerts
Product managers	Track competitor/market signals without engineering time

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
topics	array	required	One entry = one digest row. Keep each topic narrow: one Federal Register query plus one focused HTS keyword and/or small
watchTerms	string	—	Comma-separated terms added to every topic for highlighting notices and context.
lookbackDays	integer	7	Default lookback for Federal Register and USTR context filtering.
maxDocsPerTopic	integer	20	Upper bound on Federal Register documents returned for each topic.
maxPagesPerTopic	integer	2	Hard page cap for the Federal Register query. Keep low for recurring runs.
maxHtsMatchesPerTopic	integer	15	Default cap for HTS evidence rows when topic.hts.maxMatches is omitted.
delivery	string	"dataset"	dataset stores the digest JSON in the Apify dataset/local output. webhook posts the full payload to webhookUrl.
webhookUrl	string	—	Required only when delivery=webhook.

Input Example

{
  "lookbackDays": 7,
  "maxDocsPerTopic": 20,
  "maxPagesPerTopic": 2,
  "maxHtsMatchesPerTopic": 15,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "tariff-trade-change-digest-state",
  "federalRegisterApiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json",
  "htsBaseUrl": "https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/",
  "ustrRssUrl": "https://ustr.gov/rss.xml",
  "includeUstrContext": false,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "notifyOnNoChange": true,
  "dryRun": false
}

Output

Field	Type	Description
meta	object
errors	array
digests	array
digests[].topicId	string
digests[].topicName	string
digests[].checkedAt	timestamp
digests[].status	string
digests[].baselineCreated	boolean
digests[].changedSinceLastRun	boolean
digests[].actionNeeded	boolean
digests[].recommendedAction	string
digests[].summary	string
digests[].signalTags	array
digests[].watchTerms	array
digests[].federalRegisterQuery	object
digests[].htsQuery	object
digests[].counts	object
digests[].evidence	object
digests[].error	null

Output Example

{
  "meta": {
    "generatedAt": "2026-04-06T05:49:00.539Z",
    "now": "2026-04-03T12:00:00.000Z",
    "topicCount": 1,
    "changedTopicCount": 1,
    "actionNeededCount": 1,
    "currentHtsRelease": "2026HTSRev4",
    "totalFederalRegisterDocs": 2,
    "newFederalRegisterDocs": 1,
    "totalHtsMatches": 3,
    "htsChangedCount": 1,
    "noticeHitCount": 1,
    "ustrContextCount": 1,
    "snapshot": {
      "key": "tariff-trade-local-proof",
      "loadedFrom": "local",
      "savedTo": "local"
    },
    "sourceCoverage": {
      "federalRegisterApiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json",
      "htsBaseUrl": "https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/",
      "ustrRssUrl": "https://ustr.gov/rss.xml",
      "ustrContextEnabled": true
    },
    "warnings": [],
    "executiveSummary": {
      "overallStatus": "action_needed",
      "brief": "1 topic(s) have tariff/trade changes requiring follow-up.",
      "actionItems": [
        "Review 1 action-needed topic(s): Section 301 China Tariffs",
        "1 tracked HTS line(s) changed across the watchlist",
        "1 new Federal Register document(s) matched topic queries",
        "1 new USITC notice(s) matched topic terms",
        "Treat USTR RSS items as context only until Federal Register or HTS confirms the change"
      ],
      "topicStatuses": [
        {
          "topicId": "section-301",
          "topicName": "Section 301 China Tariffs",

API Usage

Run this actor programmatically using the Apify API. Replace YOUR_API_TOKEN with your token from Apify Console → Settings → Integrations.

cURL

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/taroyamada~tariff-trade-change-digest/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "lookbackDays": 7, "maxDocsPerTopic": 20, "maxPagesPerTopic": 2, "maxHtsMatchesPerTopic": 15, "delivery": "dataset", "datasetMode": "all", "snapshotKey": "tariff-trade-change-digest-state", "federalRegisterApiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json", "htsBaseUrl": "https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/", "ustrRssUrl": "https://ustr.gov/rss.xml", "includeUstrContext": false, "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30, "notifyOnNoChange": true, "dryRun": false }'

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient("YOUR_API_TOKEN")
run = client.actor("taroyamada/tariff-trade-change-digest").call(run_input={
  "lookbackDays": 7,
  "maxDocsPerTopic": 20,
  "maxPagesPerTopic": 2,
  "maxHtsMatchesPerTopic": 15,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "tariff-trade-change-digest-state",
  "federalRegisterApiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json",
  "htsBaseUrl": "https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/",
  "ustrRssUrl": "https://ustr.gov/rss.xml",
  "includeUstrContext": false,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "notifyOnNoChange": true,
  "dryRun": false
})

for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items():
    print(item)

JavaScript / Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });
const run = await client.actor('taroyamada/tariff-trade-change-digest').call({
  "lookbackDays": 7,
  "maxDocsPerTopic": 20,
  "maxPagesPerTopic": 2,
  "maxHtsMatchesPerTopic": 15,
  "delivery": "dataset",
  "datasetMode": "all",
  "snapshotKey": "tariff-trade-change-digest-state",
  "federalRegisterApiUrl": "https://www.federalregister.gov/api/v1/documents.json",
  "htsBaseUrl": "https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/",
  "ustrRssUrl": "https://ustr.gov/rss.xml",
  "includeUstrContext": false,
  "requestTimeoutSeconds": 30,
  "notifyOnNoChange": true,
  "dryRun": false
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
console.log(items);

Tips & Limitations

• Run daily for active watchlists; weekly for passive monitoring.
• Webhook delivery works well for compliance team Slack channels — include docket URL for 1-click access.
• Use watchKeywords generously — false positives are cheap to triage, false negatives miss filings.
• Pair with regulatory-change-monitor for cross-agency coverage.
• Archive Dataset rows weekly for long-term compliance evidence retention.

FAQ

How far back does history go?

This actor monitors forward-only — new items since first run. For historical data, use the agency's own search tool.

What timezones are used?

All timestamps are UTC. Use your downstream pipeline to convert to agency-local time if needed.

Does it translate non-English content?

No — original language is preserved. Use downstream translation services if needed.

Is the data official?

Yes — sourced directly from official government websites and feeds. Not a third-party aggregator.

Can I use this for legal research?

For alerting and monitoring, yes. For litigation research, cross-verify with primary sources (agency websites) — this actor is a monitoring tool, not a legal database.

Related Actors

Government & Regulatory cluster — explore related Apify tools:

• EPA Enforcement Digest | ECHO Compliance Risk Monitor — Monitor EPA ECHO all-media facility search, corporate compliance screener, and enforcement case feeds with one summary-first digest row per watched company, facility, or case feed.
• FDA Warning Letters Digest | Summary-First Feed — Monitor public FDA warning letters with one summary-first digest row per configured feed.
• Federal Register Digest | Agency Rule & Notice Monitor — Monitor Federal Register documents — rules, proposed rules, and notices — per configured agency feed.
• Government Contract Award Monitor | Award & Competitor Watch — Monitor public-sector contract award notices for new wins, notable awardees, incumbent recompetes, and competitor signals — one digest row per configured feed without brittle broad crawling.
• Grants.gov Funding Digest | Opportunity Watch & Signal Digest — Monitor Grants.
• NHTSA Vehicle Recall Digest | Recalls + Complaints Watch — Monitor official NHTSA vehicle recall and complaint endpoints for watched model-family, VIN, and manufacturer feeds.
• Product Safety Recall Digest | CPSC + openFDA Alerts — Monitor CPSC saferproducts.
• Regulatory Change Monitor API — Monitor official regulator update feeds, government bulletin pages, and public compliance notices with one action-oriented digest row per monitored source.
• OFAC Sanctions Change Digest | SDN List Monitor — Monitor the OFAC SDN (Specially Designated Nationals) sanctions list for additions and removals.
• Treasury Fiscal Data Digest | Debt, Rates & Budget Monitor — Monitor the U.
• USPTO Patent Monitor API | JSON + Webhook — Search and monitor US patent filings with multi-source fallback.
• Campaign Finance & Lobbying Digest | FEC + LDA Watch — Monitor official FEC OpenFEC committee reports and LDA.

Cost

Pay Per Event:

• actor-start: $0.01 (flat fee per run)
• dataset-item: $0.003 per output item

Example: 1,000 items = $0.01 + (1,000 × $0.003) = $3.01

No subscription required — you only pay for what you use.

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