March 20 (Reuters) - Washington's temporary relief for

import tariffs on goods covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada

Agreement (USMCA) has triggered a spike in US companies seeking

exemption under the trade deal, industry experts said.

The White House slapped fresh 25% tariffs on goods from

Canada and Mexico on March 5, but later announced that levies on

goods covered under the USMCA would be delayed until April 2.

The USMCA grants preferential treatment to goods either

sourced from or having a minimum percentage of value added in

any of the three countries.

"We're seeing importers rush to become USMCA certified ...

the risk is just too high not to," said Brian Riley, senior vice

president of customs house brokerage at logistics firm GEODIS.

Some of the companies, mostly small businesses reliant on

cross-border trade, are scrambling to verify if their products

already qualify for exemptions.

At present, only 37.8% of imports from Canada and 48.9% from

Mexico are eligible for duty-free status under the USMCA, an S&P

Global Market Intelligence report showed.

To qualify, an importer must analyze the bill of materials -

a list of all parts and materials used in a product - to

determine if their goods meet requirements.

Mike Short, president of Global Forwarding at freight

forwarder C.H. Robinson ( CHRW ), said there was an increase of USMCA

qualification and tariff classification requests even before the

official announcement.

"Now that the official amendments are published, these

requests have only increased, and we expect this trend to

continue."

Businesses earlier refrained from getting the certification

due to its complexity and costs of meeting requirements,

especially since their goods were already entering the U.S. duty

free.

Even after certification, a company has to maintain detailed

records for up to five years after import and ensure continued

compliance.

"Companies are hedging their bets by becoming USMCA

certified because what's to say the exemption may not continue

after April 2? Or, if the exemption expires then, what if it

returns in the near future?" GEODIS' Riley said.

The uncertainty has prompted companies to overlook immediate

cost-savings.

"If you are slapping 25-50% tariffs on everything, companies

that never previously needed to are now forced to evaluate if

this (USMCA certification) is an option," said Sung Choi,

vice-president of product management at supply chain solutions

provider e2open.