The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has started to actively enforce its requirements for facilities to have a valid Food Facility Registration (FFR) and for facilities to provide a valid Unique Facility Finder (UFI)—also known as a DUNS number—when renewing their registration. Enforcement of these requirements officially commenced on January 1, 2023; however, the […]

With consideration to the production capacity of the United States, and the country’s continuing efforts to combat COVID, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would extend Section 301 tariff exclusions on 81 medical products used to treat COVID-19 until May 15, 2023.  These exclusions were formerly scheduled to expire on February 28, […]

As you are aware, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) recently posted updated information about the upcoming Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Region Alert—which is a new ACE enhancement scheduled to go live on March 18, 2023. The UFLPA Region Alert will add new validations to ACE in specific applications, which means: What does an importer […]

As you may already be aware, in November 2022, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it would extend Section 301 tariff exclusions on medical products used to treat COVID-19 for an additional 90 days. With the exclusions set to expire on February 28th, the USTR announced they are seeking public comments […]

Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will extend Section 301 tariff exclusions on 352 products from China for an additional nine-months. The exclusions were previously set to expire on December 31, 2022. The exclusions from Section 301 tariffs include: The extensions announced in this notice will apply as of […]

Today, President Joe Biden signed legislation—originally approved in Congress earlier this week—to prevent a massive rail strike from devastating the US economy. The bill passed in the House (290-137) on Wednesday (November 30); and was approved by the Senate (80-15) on Thursday. Biden had been urging lawmakers to pass the bill after railway workers announced […]

The New York Times has reported that on Tuesday, Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have vowed to intervene to prevent a US rail strike. President Biden went as far as pushing Congress to impose the latest negotiated deal for the four unions rejecting the current offer; eight of the 12 unions representing 115,000 rail workers […]

Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will extend Section 301 tariff exclusions on medical products used to treat COVID-19 for an additional 90 days. The 81 exclusions were originally set to expire on November 30, 2022; however, the exclusions will now apply to products meeting the specified criteria until […]

As you may already be aware, in May 2022, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) began an initial review to determine whether Section 301 tariffs should continue to be imposed on products from China—the four year anniversary of the enactment of the duties. Last month, after receiving more than 400 requests for continuation […]

The Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) provide for reduced rates or tax credits for certain quantities of beer, wine, and distilled spirits produced in or imported into the US. A recent change in the law transferred responsibility for administering the CBMA tax benefits for imported alcohol from Customs […]

Shapiro has received multiple reports that US rail workers from two of the biggest labor unions are preparing to strike once the cooling off period expires this Friday, September 16—which may cause significant delays and disruptions for US supply chains. Although Biden issued an Executive Order in July to establish the Presidential Emergency Board (PEB), […]

On Friday, September 2, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that Section 301 tariffs would continue for List 1 and 2 products from China. The decision follows a May announcement from the USTR that informed companies that have benefited from Section 301 tariffs of the possible termination of the duties; it also […]

Shapiro has received multiple reports that workers at two of the busiest container ports in the United Kingdom (UK)—Felixstowe and Liverpool—have voted to strike as a result of ongoing wage disputes, which will likely cause delays and disruptions for UK supply chains. Beginning Sunday, August 21st, approximately 1,900 workers at the Port of Felixstowe will […]

After four straight days of dray trucker protests in Oakland, the port estimates that 12-16 vessels are at anchor waiting for a berth. The long line of vessels will only grow over the weekend. The truckers, mostly independent owner-operators, are furious over the speed of implementation and lack of clarity within California’s AB5 labor legislation. Cleverly, […]

Shapiro has received multiple reports that a group of truckers responsible for moving containers in and out of the marine terminals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach (LA/LB) ports is participating in a work stoppage today (Wednesday, July 13) in protest of a controversial California state law, AB5. Owner operators are protesting outside the […]

On Friday, June 17th, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) enforcement strategy; the document was required to support the UFLPA’s rebuttable presumption that goods connected to the Xinjiang region are made with forced labor as of June 21, 2022. According to the Forced Labor Enforcement Task […]

Update as of 6/16/22: This afternoon, President Biden signed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA 22) into law. Per our initial ShapFlash, the US House of Representatives passed the Senate version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (OSRA 22) by a vote of 369-42. As always, Shapiro will continue to monitor […]

Over the weekend, a deadly fire erupted at the BM Container Depot in southeastern Bangladesh, killing at least 49 people and injuring more than 300 others. The shipping container facility is in Sitakunda, near the port city of Chittagong. The cause of the fire is still unknown; however, officials believe that the facility became engulfed […]

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has announced another 6-month extension of Section 301 tariff exclusions on products used to treat COVID-19. All 81 product exclusions will now be extended until November 30, 2022.  The initial extension for all specified products was scheduled to expire on May 31, 2022. Click here to view the official notice. […]

Today, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice asking representatives of domestic industries to provide details regarding their utility of Section 301 tariffs since they first went into effect four years ago. In the announcement, the USTR informed companies that have benefited from Section 301 tariffs of the possible termination of […]