As you may already be aware, in October 2020, the USTR launched two separate investigations into Vietnam’s acts, policies, and practices related to currency valuation pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Today, the USTR released a report concluding that Vietnam’s acts, policies, and practices – including excessive foreign exchange market interventions […]

Earlier today, the US State Department announced that Cuba would be designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism for “repeatedly providing support for acts of international terrorism in granting safe harbor to terrorists.” Cuba now joins three other countries on the list: Iran, North Korea and Syria. Click here to view the full announcement from […]

Yesterday, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the suspension of additional 25% duties on certain French goods that were originally scheduled to begin on January 6, 2021. According to officials, the decision was made “given that these [Digital Services Tax] investigations are ongoing and have not yet reached any determinations on what, […]

On December 30th, in the latest escalation of the on-going dispute over aircraft subsidies, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will impose additional Section 301 tariffs on goods imported from the European Union (EU). An additional 15% tariff will be assessed on aircraft parts, as well as 25% tariffs on […]

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. The USTR also announced that it is adding more products to the initial list of goods covered by the exclusions. The extended exclusions will apply to all products meeting the specified […]

On December 23, 2020, the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) amended the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) to remove the People’s Republic of China (PRC or China) Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong from the list of destinations in the Export Administration Regulations (EAR). This decision is effective immediately. This rule implements a significant change […]

As you may already know, the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program are scheduled to expire on December 31, 2020. As a result, imports entering the US that were previously eligible for MTB and/or duty-free treatment under GSP are subject to regular duty rates beginning January 1, 2021. GSP authorization […]

Chinese New Year (CNY) will commence on February 12, 2021. In observance of the celebration, China will be on holiday between February 11th – 17th. In a pre-pandemic world, shippers typically experienced supply chain disruptions approximately 10-14 days prior to start of CNY. However, this year, experts are warning importers to prepare for an additional […]

Yesterday, the European Union (EU) announced that it will raise tariffs on $4 billion worth of goods imported from the US in response to the on-going dispute over aircraft subsidies. Beginning November 10th, the EU will impose additional 15% tariffs on large aircrafts, as well as 25% tariffs on an assortment of other goods – […]

On October 30, 2020, Trump signed a Presidential Proclamation announcing changes to Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) eligibility for preferential treatment based on the US Trade Representative’s (USTR) 2020 GSP Program review findings. The decisions include: According to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) will be updated to accept […]

On October 27, 2020, President Trump issued a Proclamation on Adjusting Imports of Aluminum into the United States, reinstating Canada’s exclusion from additional 10% duties under Section 232 on certain non-alloyed unwrought aluminum articles. As a result, HTS number 9903.85.21 is no longer required for imports of non-alloyed unwrought aluminum articles that are the product […]

On September 30, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued two sets of exclusion extensions for List 1 and 2 products that are currently set to expire on October 2. The first notice granted extensions to 9 product exclusions from List 1. Click here to view the full list of List 1 products – […]

On September 30th, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced its latest round of product exclusions from Section 301 Chinese tariffs. Similar to the last set of exclusions, the USTR notice features 2 separate sets of exclusions, each containing the specially prepared HTS subheadings partially excluded from Section 301 List 1 and 2 […]

The office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) will publish an official notice in the Federal Register later this week asking the public to submit comments on whether the first set of Section 301 List 1 exclusions, currently set to expire on December 28th, should extend an additional year. Each comment will be individually evaluated […]

Due to the overwhelming congestion in the ports, truckers are struggling to get containers out with the free time allotted. Carriers are not cooperating; we are not seeing free time extended.  Some of the issues we are experiencing include: Truckers are unable to return empty containers to the terminals where they were picked up, thus […]

Earlier this morning, CMA CGM announced that external access to all IT applications was unavailable as they deal with a cyber-attack. Here’s what we know: For all bookings and local operations, CMA CGM has asked that you contact your local agency. Click here to view the full advisory issued on the CMA CGM website. Shapiro […]

On September 25th, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced that the U.S. and Japan reached an agreement that will reduce agricultural and industrial tariffs. This agreement also includes a set of provisions that address digital trade barriers between the two countries. U.S. officials have agreed to eliminate or reduce tariffs on 42 HTS codes of […]

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released three additional sets of product exclusions from Section 301 Chinese tariffs. The USTR notice features 3 separate announcements, each containing the specially prepared HTS subheadings partially excluded from Section 301 List 1, 2, and 3 tariffs. The List 1 notice contains 310 HTS subheadings partially excluded from […]

On September 17, 2020, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued two sets of exclusion extensions for List 1 and 2 products that are currently set to expire on September 20. The first notice granted extensions to 62 out of the 310 product exclusions from List 1. Click here to view the full list of […]

Per our August Shap Talk article, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) previously announced fee increases adjusted to reflect inflation effective October 1, 2020. These fees will directly affect your Customs entry. For example, the Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) limitation for formal entries (class code 499) will increase from $26.79 to $27.23 and the maximum […]