Please be advised that several carriers have announced significant increases to their FAK levels from North Europe to the USA. These changes will affect current tariff rates. Impact on contract rates is not clear, and would likely not be as severe, but the market will definitely support some increases.
News / Industry News
On Wednesday, March 10, 2021, the United States Trade Representative Office (USTR) announced in Federal Register Notice 86 No 45 FR 13785 that the Section 301 exclusions for Covid-19 related medical supplies, originally scheduled to expire on March 31, 2021, would be extended through September 30, 2021.
In joint statements on March 4 and March 5, 2021, the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union all agreed to a four-month mutual suspension of tariffs related to the World Trade Organization (WTO) aircraft dispute. The suspension will cover all tariffs both on aircraft as well as non-aircraft products.
Source: National Retail Federation Press Release – March 8, 2021
Imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports are expected to grow dramatically during the first half of 2021 as increased vaccination and continued in-store safety measures enable additional shopping options, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
The erosion of ocean carrier schedule reliability is one of the glaring by-products of the pandemic induced port congestion. In January, global container vessel schedule reliability fell to 34.9%, the lowest ever recorded, and down 33.5% year over year. The transpacific trade from Asia to the U.S. was substantially affected in January, with reliability sinking to 13.8% to the West Coast (second lowest on record), and 21.5% to the East Coast – also a record.
On Monday, March 1, 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released President Biden’s 2021 Trade Agenda and 2020 Annual Report. According to the USTR Press Release, “The President’s agenda will create millions of good-paying jobs and support America’s working families.”
The Generalized System of Preferences Program (GSP) expired on December 31, 2020, as Congress failed to reach a deal before the end of the year that would have extended the GSP program. There were bills in both the Senate and House which were put forward to extend GSP for sixteen months and six months respectively.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released on their website the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region WRO Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). This is to help answer the many questions asked since the issuance of the Withhold Release Order (WRO) for cotton, cotton products, tomatoes and tomato products produced in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR).
The sustained surge of U.S. containerized imports from Asia, which began eight months ago, continues unabated and is anticipated to persist well into the spring, being further exacerbated by the pre-Lunar New Year cargo rush experienced at origin ports in Asia in recent weeks.
Source: National Retail Federation Press Release – February 8, 2021
Following a record year during 2020, imports at the nation’s largest retail container ports are expected to set new monthly records from now into the summer as the nation’s economy continues to recover from the pandemic, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.