Just when all eyes are on West Coast port labor, the Charleston International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) filed paperwork for the right to strike. While there has yet to be any work stoppage or noticeable slow-downs, the local ILA in Charleston now has the legal right to strike. There are three main aspects to the conflict: […]

On June 11, the House of Representatives passed the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 bill moving it along to the Senate for Congressional approval. If the bill receives senatorial support, the final step would be for President Obama to sign the legislation into law. The proposed legislation would reinstate the General Systemof Preference (GSP), retroactively […]

Shapiro is excited to announce that our Baltimore Headquarters office will be relocating to the Locust Point neighborhood in Baltimore, on Friday, June 12, 2015. The office will remain open for standard business hours on June 12th and will close promptly at 5:00 p.m. EST. Phone calls and emails will be monitored for any urgent inquiries. […]

Shapiro is excited to announce that our Dulles office will be relocating to Sterling, VA, on Friday, January 9, 2015. The office will close at noon on January 9thfor the move. Phones and emails will be monitored for any urgent requests. Please note our new address below: Broad Run Professional Building 22375 Broderick Suite 230 Sterling, VA 20166 […]

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have ratified the five-year contract agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  The contract was confirmed on Friday, May 22, 2015, more than a year since negotiations began, and will be retroactive to the previous contract’s July 1, 2014 expiration, remaining valid through July 1, 2019. The agreement was […]

Starting July 9, 2013, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) instituted a policy that every liquidated damages enforcement action for Importer Security Filings (ISF) would be reviewed by CBP headquarters for a period of at least one year. On May 13, 2014, Customs reset the twelve month review period. The current enforcement review period will […]

Legislation to renew GSP was introduced on April 16th by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR), and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI). The legislation would renew GSP through December 31, 2017, and also provide for refunds on GSP […]

The Houston shipping channel remains partially closed after a chemical tanker, the Carla Maersk, collided with a bulk carrier, the Condi Peridot, at 12:41 p.m. Monday, March 9th.  The U.S. Coast Guard began clean-up of the methyl tetr-butyl ether (MTBE) spill creating a 4-8 mile safety zone.  MTBE, a gasoline additive, is highly flammable and dangerous if inhaled in high […]

As reported in the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, protests against a 15-centavo-per-liter ($0.20/gallon) fuel tax hike in Brazil have entered their seventh day and are spreading across the country. What originally started as an isolated protest in Mato Grosso, has quickly spread to six other states throughout Brazil.  Truckers are using their vehicles to block […]

On February 20, 2015, negotiators for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced a tentative five-year coastwide contract agreement.  Details of the contract are not yet available since membership of both groups must vote to ratify the agreement; a process that could take several weeks.  In the meantime, […]

Vancouver Late on February 16th, 2015, an agreement was reached between the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway and union locomotive representatives to enter into binding government arbitration.  The short lived strike that began Sunday is now officially over. Movement of rail cargo is expected to resume as of this morning. CP announced the federal government would […]

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015, the Canadian Pacific (CP) Railway announced that the union representing more than 3,000 of its locomotive engineers and conductors presented a strike notice for this upcoming weekend.  CP, Canada’s second largest railway, responded by advising that its managers will be ready to take over if workers walk off the job. […]

The Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) announced the shutdown of vessel operations starting today, Thursday, February 12 (Lincoln’s Birthday), in addition to Saturday, Sunday, and Monday (Washington’s Birthday) to avoid paying longshoremen holiday or weekend pay for slow productivity that is crippling West Coast ports. While gate, rail, and yard operations will remain open per terminal operators’ […]

While vessels idle offshore waiting to deliver commerce to U.S. West Coast ports, all eyes are on the contract battle between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  On Wednesday, February 4, 2015, James McKenna, PMA’s President and CEO, released details of a comprehensive offer in an attempt to […]

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a notice in today’s Federal Register announcing the next phase of Harmonized Tariff Schedule numbers that will require a Lacey Act declaration at the time of importation starting on August 6, 2015. This is the first new phase in […]

Please be advised that due to worsening snow and ice conditions in the New York area, our New York office will be closing early at 4:00pm today, February 2, 2015.  Phone lines will be forwarded to our Baltimore office for urgent assistance. Many New York and New Jersey marine terminals are ceasing inbound gate processing […]

Shapiro’s Atlanta and Charleston offices are closed today due to inclement weather.  All employees have remote access and will be available via email. To reach someone via phone: Charleston office: Call Kay McGaha, Branch Manager, on her mobile at 843-817-8340, or Billie Mullineaux, Import Manager, on her mobile at 843-696-1588. Atlanta office: Call Kathleen Robie, Branch […]

Despite a glimmer of hope this week in the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) negotiations on the West Coast, the beleaguered West Coast import trade community is facing yet another serious crisis.  There is a growing shortage of empty containers in China to carry the unexpected high volume of […]

The NY & NJ Port Authority has released a winter weather advisory announcing that all New York and New Jersey marine terminals will close today, Monday, January 26, by 3:00 PM and remain closed Tuesday, January 27, in anticipation of winter storm Juno.  The port will make an announcement about port operations for Wednesday, January […]

The shipping industry made a collective sigh of relief as word came on January 5th that Federal Mediators were being brought in to help the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) to reach a labor settlement.  Unfortunately, even with mediator assistance, no reported progress had been made.  In fact, […]