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 […]

Importers are reporting an uptick in penalties from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a result of late ISF filings. Though CBP penalties for late ISFs filings are not new, the measure for lateness used to encompass several weeks or more. It is now our understanding that CBP is tightening their requirements; we are […]

A third round of product exclusions on Section 301 List 1 Chinese goods was released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on April 15, 2019. The announcement highlights an additional 21 specially prepared product descriptions, covering 348 separate exclusion requests, subject to partial exclusion from Section 301 tariffs. The newest batch of […]

On April 8, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published a preliminary list of products from the European Union (EU) that may be subject to additional Section 301 tariffs. This measure has been proposed in retaliation for the harm imposed on the US economy by EU aircraft subsidies. A number of […]

President Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico as early as this week in light of the issues stemming from the continued immigration crisis. Trump’s announcement is the latest in a series of escalated threats against Mexico in his pursuit of border security. It’s unclear whether the closure would apply to all traffic […]

Extremely low water levels in the Panama Canal have led to the imposition of a draft restriction on the waterway due to safety considerations. Presently, there is no expiration date for the restriction, but it will be eliminated once water levels stabilize. As of now, Maersk will roll almost all containers on GUNHILDE MAERSK/913E, which […]

Chinese officials announced changes to the May Day Holiday weekend in an act to stimulate China’s economy amidst disappointing first quarter data. Observance of the holiday will now take place between May 1-4, 2019. Despite the shift from one to four days, it will not create any additional days off for workers. Instead, workers are […]

On March 20, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released an additional list of partially or fully excluded Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings in regard to Section 301 List 1 tariffs. The 33 newly excluded HTS subheadings supplement the original list of 22 HTS subheadings previously excluded by the USTR on December 21, […]

On December 31, 2018, the National Marine Fisheries Services (NMFS) added Abalone and Shrimp to the list of SIMP commodities that require additional information when importing. To assist importers with the transition, they permitted a compliance period that would allow Customs entries to be processed without the required elements. That compliance period ends April 1, […]

On Monday, March 4th, 2019, President Trump announced that India and Turkey’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status would be revoked. The decision threatens the GSP duty-free entry status of nearly $5.6 billion Indian goods. In a letter addressed to Congress, Trump explained that he is “taking this step because, after intensive engagement between the […]

As previously reported in January’s Shap Talk, the EPA published the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products final rule on December 12, 2016.   Below are some FAQs to ensure you are fully aware of these new requirements: What does this final rule say? Beginning on March 22, 2019, importers, manufacturers, fabricators distributors and retailers […]