Trade Alerts

On Saturday, the union representing the longshoremen at the Port of Montreal issued a 72-hour notice of a partial strike that will impact all terminals at the port. The work slowdown would include discontinuing overtime work, docking activities, training, and weekend work, but the port will continue working regular hours. This action is in response…

With most aspects of the US Food and Drug Administration’s Food Safety Verification Program (FSVP) in place last year, the FDA will begin stricter enforcement of the regulations in 2021. During the Regulatory Agencies Committee (RAC) monthly meeting (a committee of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America), FDA’s Assistant Commissioner for Import…

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced the time to obtain and submit a unique facility identifier (UFI), a new datapoint required for registration/biennial registration, has been extended to December 31, 2022. Currently, the only acceptable UFI is a DUNS number assigned by Dun & Bradstreet, and the FDA noted that some companies…

Yesterday, the US Trade Representative (USTR) published a press release announcing that the US would suspend all engagement with Burma under the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), effective immediately. The announcement is in response to Burmese security forces’ brutal violence against civilians. The press release reads, “the USTR will consider the situation in…

The Evergreen vessel blocking the Suez Canal was freed yesterday; however, the hundreds of ships waiting to traverse the canal have created a backlog with a rippling effect. Estimates predict days and up to weeks for the backlog to clear. The shipping delays caused by the backlog will likely mean delayed manufacturing schedules and equipment…

According to CSMS 46800973, the US Commerce Department has postponed implementing the Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis System (AIM) until June 28, 2021. The effective date was March 29th, which was a delay from the original January 25, 2021, date (see Deringer’s January 25th alert). According to the AIM site, the delay means that licenses…

The Suez Canal passage continues to be blocked in both directions – the waterway has been closed since Tuesday, March 23, when the Ever Given became lodged sideways.  Shippers can expect to see further delays on cargo inbound to the USA/Canada East Coast as the vessel is freed. Please see below exert from NPR: “The…

In CSMS 46744379, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that its National Commodity Specialist Division, Office of Trade, will present commodity-specific webinars. The webinars will begin in May and will tentatively extend through August. A subsequent CSMS (46749955) advised that the link to the webinar registration is forthcoming. The May webinars will take place…

Earlier in March, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced a suspension of Section 301 tariffs relating to the US-European Union large civil aircraft dispute (see Deringer trade alert dated March 8). The aircraft tariffs suspension is in place for a period of four months and began at 12:01 AM on March 11,…

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a fact sheet regarding country of origin marking requirements for fresh-cut flower imports. CBP indicated the guidance document was being made available because “The trend of importing consumer-ready, fresh-cut flower bouquets, or assembling such articles upon importation for sale directly to retailers, has increased in recent years, making…