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 […]

US imports from Asia in August increased 34 percent from June, driven by a high demand for e-commerce fulfillment and personal protective equipment (PPE). Last month alone, imports from China were up 32 percent. The combination of import fluctuations and blank sailings has had an uneven impact on supply chains at US ports and inland […]

On September 15, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced it will revoke the 10% tariff on imports of non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum products from Canada that originally went into effect on August 16. The decision to rescind Section 232 duties was made in light of an expected 50% decline in average monthly US […]

A new lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) targeting the legality of List 3 and List 4 tariffs on Chinese goods pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that List 3 and List 4 tariffs were imposed untimely and were created to […]

On September 11th, President Trump announced that the U.S. will postpone the planned tariff rate increase from 25% to 30% on Section 301 List 1, 2 and 3 Chinese products, originally scheduled to take effect October 1st, until October 15th. Trump’s ‘goodwill gesture’, in honor of the People’s Republic of China’s 70th anniversary on October […]

Per our previous Shap Flashes, on Sunday, June 30th, 2019, the office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) announced the implementation of an electronic portal to aid in the process of filing Section 301 List 3 tariff exclusions. While the portal has been active for a couple months now, please note that all Section 301 […]

Scope rulings and anti-circumvention inquiries are two areas targeted for significant changes in the proposed Department of Commerce (DOC) regulations. In one critical change, an affirmative scope or anti-circumvention inquiry decision would apply retroactively to all unliquidated entries. The implementation would revert to the original date for suspension of liquidation under the AD/CVD order, usually […]