Per our previous Shap Flashes, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced plans to establish an exclusion process for products subject to Section 301 List 3 tariffs. The electronic portal allowing for exclusion submission requests will go live on Sunday, June 30th, 2019 at 12:00 PM. If you are “feeling the heat” in the kitchen as a result […]

By now, you may have learned that 17 metric tons of cocaine have been seized from the MSC Gayane by federal authorities on Tuesday, June 18th, at Philadelphia’s Packer Marine Terminal.  MSC has since been notified by United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) that their C-TPAT certification has been suspended for a period of […]

Friday, May 31st was a busy day!  In addition to announcing the termination of GSP privileges for India effective 6/5, the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) shared that goods shipped prior to May 10th that fall under List 3 will NOT be subjected to an additional 15% in duties (from 10% to […]

On Friday, May 31st, President Trump announced that India would lose its Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status effective Wednesday, June 5th. India’s GSP status is being revoked as President Trump feels that India is not ensuring the U.S. “equitable and reasonable access to its markets.” India’s loss of GSP status follows Turkey’s, and comes […]

On May 30th, in response to the record surges in illegal immigration crossing at the U.S.-Mexico border reported by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials in recent weeks, President Trump announced a 5% tariff on all U.S. goods imported from Mexico beginning June 10th. Moreover, Trump threatened to further escalate duties by an additional […]

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and Canadian International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have reached a tentative agreement to end yesterday’s planned labor lockout at the Vancouver and Prince Rupert ports, and will resume normal port operations effective this afternoon, Thursday, May 30th at 4:30 pm. Mediated negotiation efforts to end the lockout […]

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) released an official notice to the Canadian International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) indicating its intention to lockout dockworkers at the Canadian ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert beginning Thursday, May 30th at 8:00 am. The announcement trails the continuously tumultuous contract negotiations between BCMEA officials and ILWU […]

Several carriers have already announced upcoming Trans-Pacific blank sailings for June. The OCEAN Alliance, including CMA (including APL), COSCO (including OOCL) and Evergreen, will remove approximately 25,000 TEU from its Trans-Pacific trade lane in June (this represents over 6% of total capacity). The news comes amid declining demand due to the low volume of Chinese […]

Per our Shap Flash posted on May 8, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released a statement indicating that the exclusion process for List 3 tariffs would be outlined shortly. Though no official announcement has been released yet, the USTR has released a separate notice on May 20th seeking the approval of forms […]

As importers subjected to Section 301 Lists 1, 2 and 3 can attest, additional tariffs have a major impact on your bond. With List 4 on the horizon (which covers nearly all products imported from China), it is more important than ever to gauge the sufficiency of your Customs bond. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) […]

Effective May 17th, the White House officially announced the end of Turkey’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status, since it “no longer meets the criteria to be considered a developing country.” Although, in March, the USTR had announced that both Turkey and India would be terminated from GSP, India is still in the GSP program. […]

The grace period is nearly up for Air Cargo Advanced Screening (ACAS). Air cargo carriers should already have their method in place prior to June 12th 2019 to technologically meet the advanced security filing requirements for air cargo imports to the U.S. This data collection and submission program is a joint effort between Customs and […]

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) published a new list (‘List 4’) containing “essentially all products not currently covered” by any of the three existing Section 301 tariff lists to be evaluated for future tariffs. Officials have asked the public to submit comments on approximately 3,805 HTS subheadings, totaling $300 billion in Chinese […]

On May 9, the USTR released a fourth round of exclusions. This list includes an additional 40 HTS subheadings that are either partially or completely excluded from Section 301 List 1 tariffs. The official notice contains five (5) HTS subheadings completely excluded from 25% tariffs, covering 86 separate import requests, and thirty-five (35) partially excluded HTS subheadings, which […]

We have just learned that the programming issues that we reported on yesterday have now been corrected. The programming revolved around the implementation of a new Chapter 99 Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) number to capture a 10% duty rate for shipments entered for consumption after 5/10, but exported before 5/10. The CSMS notice also indicated […]

The Federal Notice has officially been posted. Click here to view the full version. Section 301 List 3 tariffs on Chinese goods are still expected to increase from 10% to 25% effective 12:01 AM on Friday, May 10th. We say this with awareness (but not a great deal of hope) that these tariffs could possibly […]

On May 3rd, the Panama Canal Authority released its 6th draft restriction of 2019, a result of the country’s ongoing and severe drought conditions. Effective May 28th, vessels traveling through the famous canal will be restricted to a maximum draft of 13.1 meters (43 feet). Authorities lowered the current restrictions on the waterway by an […]

Per our Shap Flash on May 6, President Trump announced an increase in Section 301 List 3 tariffs from 10% to 25% that would commence this week. According to a new bulletin posted by the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), the additional 15% increase on products falling under List 3 will go into effect at […]

On Sunday, May 5th, just days before Chinese officials are set to arrive in the US to continue trade negotiations, President Trump elicited a tweet proclaiming a planned increase in Section 301 List 3 tariffs from 10% to 25%. The additional 15% increase on products falling under List 3 could occur as early as the end of […]

Per our Shap Flash on March 5th, President Trump announced that India and Turkey’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status would be revoked. Trump’s announcement followed a 2018 USTR investigation into the trade and fairness practices of several GSP eligible governments, after various complaints from the U.S. dairy and medical sectors claimed that the program […]