Effective October 1, 2021, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will proceed in adjusting certain customs user fees pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for Fiscal Year 2022 in Accordance with the Fixing American’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) as implemented by CBP regulations.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
On July 26, the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) on behalf of the Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) announced that the Border Services Officers (FB) have voted to strike starting August 6, 2021. This group includes the Canadian Border Service Agency (CBSA) Officers and is the result of an impasse in negotiations between their union and the Canadian Government. Immediately following the announcement of strike the two sides did agree to restart negotiations.
Yesterday, July 28, 2021, Bayport and Barbours Cut Container Terminals in Houston were closed due to software and storage device failures. As of 3:00 pm CT today, July 29, both terminals are now open to truck traffic per the Port Houston website.
Bayport and Barbours Cut Terminals in Houston will not be able to open today or tonight. The expectation is that they will reopen tomorrow, July 29, after a two-day closure.
Due to the ongoing extreme congestion, as well as the lack of chassis, both major railroads serving the Midwest have now made the decision to temporarily suspend acceptance of ocean containers to Chicago. This decision will affect IPI moves to Chicago with all ocean carriers.
August will be the 11th straight month the USA has been grappling with peak season ocean market conditions induced by the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding V-shaped recovery. The Los Angeles port complex is expected to again set volume records in July and August.
On Tuesday, July 13, 2021, a 36 page Joint Xinjiang Supply Chain Advisory was published by the Department of State, Department of Treasury, Department of Commerce, Department of Homeland Security, United States Trade Representatives and the Department of Labor.
Per an article released by the Journal of Commerce Online today, July 15, the Union Pacific Railroad (UP) will stop all international intermodal service from the West Coast to its Global IV terminal in Joliet, Illinois, for up to seven days beginning early Monday.
On Tuesday, July 6, 2021, the Court of International Trade (CIT) delivered a small “win” for the plaintiff importers in the Section 301 China list 3 and 4A case before the court. In the fifty (50) page two-to-one split decision ruling, CIT granted a preliminary injunction to suspend the liquidation of unliquidated import entries subject to Lists 3 and 4A duties subject to the Section 301 litigation.
Following nearly two years of increased duties/tariffs related to many retaliatory programs, aimed at unfair trade practices, as well as escalating costs via air, ocean rail and truck many importers are seeing an ever-increasing hit to their cash reserves. The volume and timing of cash outlays outpaces their cash inflows from their clients paying on terms. Managing cash flow is often the first area of focus each day for importers.