USU students launch new AI app that tracks tariffs

SALT LAKE CITY — Businesses worried about changing tariffs can get some help from Utah State University students who’ve launched a new app called Tarifflo.

The app uses artificial intelligence to help the user stay up-to-date with executive orders and tariffs on many types of products.

The app helps with certain types of analysis, too. Tarifflo co-founder Tanner Helms said the AI is programmed to track and log tariff data spanning the last decade to help companies see possible trends.

“They (the user) can select a product and they can see all the executive orders,” he said. “They can see all the non-tariff measures. They can see all the tariff rates.”

The app’s earlier days focused on HGS classifications, a way to categorize products shipped into the U.S.

“Every product shipped into a country goes into a category, and whatever category that product is assigned to determines all of the regulations for that product,” Helms said, “as well as the tariff rate that you have to pay to the government for importing the product.”

Executive orders involving tariffs motivated students

After President Donald Trump took office, the Tarifflo staff added executive orders to the categories. 

“(App users) can select different executive orders to see how their tariff rates in their supply chain is impacted by all the recent updates,” Helms said.

The app also keeps track of rumors. If businesses or agencies talk about an executive order or a tariff that may be coming, the user can be alerted.

“So we pull those rumors into our system. You actually can run (various) scenarios and ask, ‘okay, if this executive order actually does happen in one month, we can run all these different scenarios for our supply chain to see exactly how it’s going to impact.'”

Helms said they’ve already partnered with nearly a dozen large businesses, including the World Trade Center in New York.

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