The airfreight market has started to mirror the ocean freight market. This week, we are seeing the perfect storm in terms of increased demand, reductions in capacity (due to flight cancellations) and new restrictions as a result of COVID outbreaks in Nanjing, Zhangjiajie and Zhengzhou. Airfreight rates are currently $9 to $10/kilo and are trending to $11/kilo […]

Per our earlier Shap Flash, carriers announced additional surcharges for August to help offset rising costs from operational delays, vessel backlogs and other kinks in supply chains worldwide. As we expected, some carriers have announced alterations to the original list of surcharges; please click here for a detailed snapshot of the updated surcharges and the […]

Some of you may recall that the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) announced on July 6, 2021 that it will halt the liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to Section 301 tariffs in wake of the thousands of plaintiffs who filed lawsuits targeting the legality of List 3 and List 4 tariffs on Chinese goods. […]

As operational delays, equipment and space shortages, and vessel backlogs continue to cripple supply chains worldwide, carriers have announced additional surcharges that are scheduled to go into effect in August. Please click here for a detailed snapshot of the new surcharges and the markets that carriers are targeting at this time. We expect that other […]

Today, U.S. Department of Treasury and State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) officials announced that they have “reached agreement to address Treasury’s concerns about Vietnam’s currency practices as described in Treasury’s Report to Congress on the Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States.” Although the announcement falls short of explicitly […]

Indonesia Indonesia has imposed an emergency public activity restriction (PPKM) through July 20, 2021. The restriction was passed due to ongoing spikes of COVID-19 cases. There have been 56,757 confirmed cases as of July 15. The PPKM restrictions are focused on Java, Bali, and Jakarta.  There are “rumors” that this PPKM will be extended for […]

Union Pacific railroad announced that it will halt the movement of international cargo from the West Coast to its Global IV terminal in Chicago for a week, beginning Sunday, July 18th. The announcement comes after labor shortages, pandemic restrictions and pooled chassis shortages have created congestion at the terminal. Officials hope that the weeklong pause […]

In wake of the rapidly deteriorating COVID situation in Ho Chi Minh City and other provinces, Vietnam officials have announced that the country will be instituting a full lockdown effective tomorrow – July 9, 2021 – to attempt to contain the outbreak. Please note the following details: Many offices will be severely reducing in-office staffing […]

Today, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) announced that it will halt the liquidation of unliquidated entries subject to Section 301 tariffs in wake of the thousands of plaintiffs who filed lawsuits targeting the legality of List 3 and List 4 tariffs on Chinese goods. In its preliminary injunction, a majority of judges on […]

Today, the US and EU announced that they have reached a deal related to the Boeing – Airbus dispute. This marks the end of the longest running quarrel in the history of the World Trade Organization (WTO). According to the official White House Press release, the US and EU will suspend tariffs for five years and work together […]

Unites States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced today the conclusion of the one-year Section 301 investigations of Digital Service Taxes (DSTs) adopted by Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The final determination in those investigations is to impose an additional 25% 301 tariffs on certain goods from these countries.  The USTR announced […]

Congestion has been one ramification of the COVID outbreak we reported on yesterday. In an effort to improve the traffic situation in the surrounding areas of the port of Yantian, Yantian International Container Terminals (YICT) has decided the following: Between 12 AM (midnight) on May 28th and 11:59 PM on May 30th, export-loaded containers will […]

COVID-19 cases were first detected at the port of Yantian last Friday, and several more infections have emerged for workers on the Oriental Vancouver. The following measures have been implemented by the Chinese authorities: Two COVID-19 tests every three days for all workers at the port. Sanitation of the whole port and residential areas around […]

On Monday, the Court of International Trade (CIT) announced that it found that Donald Trump had violated his presidential authority when he expanded Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivative products back in January 2020. The decision was announced following months of litigation resulting from a lawsuit filed by PrimeSource Building Products – a […]

We learned this morning that the grounded EVER GIVEN has been dislodged in the Suez Canal—and that it will be towed, during high tide, to Great Bitter Lake for inspection. It is expected that transits will resume later this evening and that the backlog will be addressed within the week. We will certainly keep you apprised […]

The Ever Given, operated by Evergreen, was headed to the Netherlands on Tuesday when it ran aground, sideways, in the Suez Canal during a dust storm.  The Canal is currently blocked in both directions.  Dredgers have been working to dislodge the vessel which is blocking the flow of an estimated $12 billion in goods. Some […]

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will extend certain Section 301 tariff exclusions on products used to treat COVID-19; these exclusions were previously set to expire on March 31, 2021. The extended exclusions will apply to all products meeting the specified criteria until September 30, 2021. Click here to read […]

On March 4th, 2021, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) and United Kingdom (UK) announced a four-month suspension of additional duties on large civilian aircrafts in an effort to resolve one of the longest running World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes. According to the USTR press release, the UK had already stopped applying retaliatory […]

On January 20th, the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) announced that the ‘Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) System’ final rule, originally scheduled to go into effect on January 25, 2021, would be delayed until March 29, 2021 to allow incoming Biden Administration officials additional time to review all relevant documentation prior to its implementation. […]

Effective January 25, 2021, when a Customs entry is filed for Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulated plants, plant products, animal products, or live dog imports, APHIS will require the mandatory filing of the PGA Message Set in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). APHIS has flagged more than 2,000 HTS subheadings that may […]