On Sunday, October 31, 2021, the United Sates and the European Union announced in a Joint Statement on Trade in Steel and Aluminum that the U.S. would remove the section 232 tariffs and the E.U. would suspend related tariffs on U.S. products. In addition to the removal of tariffs both will also suspend their related World Trade Organization disputes.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
In reaction to the ongoing historic container port congestion, the Biden Administration announced on October 25th that effective November 1, 2021, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will begin charging an “emergency fee” on all long dwelling cargo.
The USTR has announced that it is inviting public comments on whether to reinstate any of the 549 China Section 301 product exclusions that had previously been extended but are now expired. This represents only a small portion of the original 2,200 total product exclusions previously approved by the USTR which were allowed to expire without extension.
On Friday, October 1, 2021, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office announced an agreement to resolve the Timber Section 301 Investigation. The agreement secures commitments that will help keep illegally harvested or traded timber out of the supply chain and protect the environment and natural resources.
Effective October 1, 2021, Egypt has implemented a new Advance Cargo Information Declaration (ACID). Shipments departing origin after October 1, 2021, without an ACID number will be rejected and returned to origin.
The China Government has implemented very strict electricity usage control which seriously impacts the production of many factories in China. Power rationing and forced cuts to factory production in China are widening amid electricity supply issues and a push to enforce environmental regulations. The curbs have expanded to more than 10 provinces, including economic powerhouses Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong.
New local COVID-19 infections more than doubled in China’s southeastern province of Fujian, health authorities said on Tuesday, prompting officials to quickly roll out measures including travel restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.
Due to the expected weather impact from tropical storm Nicholas, various terminals within Port Houston will be closing early.
On Friday August 20, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sent out Cargo Systems Messaging Service CSMS #49132200 which provided guidance to importers and brokers regarding Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) subheading 9801.00.10 for U.S. and Foreign Goods Returned.
Late Friday, August 6, 2021, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), on behalf of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU), announced a tentative agreement with the government. This agreement ended the strike that had started earlier that day.