Trade Alerts

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has provided the “unpublished” announcement of another round of product exclusions from Chinese goods subject to the Section 301 tariffs found on List 4. The published version should be available tomorrow July 10th. These exclusions include “61 specially prepared product descriptions” and will apply retroactively to September 1, 2019, when…

On July 1st, the US International Trade Commission (USITC) released a major update to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS). Revision 14 now includes the US Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), an additional Section 301 exclusion, and changes to 10-digit statistical suffixes for a variety of goods. USMCA New special program indicators (SPIs) of “S” and “S+”…

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shared that USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Core Message Set implementation in ACE would be extended until January 2021, according to CSMS 43224976 published yesterday. Prior to this extension, the APHIS Core was set to activate in ACE on August 3, 2020. This action comes as…

The Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) increased the de minimis value exemption of Section 321 shipments from $200 to $800; however, most partner government agencies (PGAs) do not provide exemptions from their respective requirements based on value. The de minimis value allowed entries to pass free of duty and tax, but…

Montreal longshore workers have planned a 40-hour strike at two marine terminals starting Thursday afternoon. As stated in the JOC yesterday, “The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) on Tuesday said it had received a 72-hour strike notice from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 informing them of the pending job action beginning 3…

Effective today, July 1st, NAFTA terminates, and the USMCA enters into force. The Final Implementing Instructions for USMCA (aka CUSMA) were released yesterday. The Background section states: “CBP understands that the trade may need time to adjust business practices to comply with the new requirements under the USMCA, particularly relating to the preferential tariff treatment…

On August 1, 2020, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by 4.2 percent. The increase will bring the TMF charge per TEU to $33.47 or $66.94 for all sizes of containers. Empty containers, transshipment cargo, and import/export cargo transiting the Alameda Corridor and subject to…

As of July 1st, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will no longer exist as the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) comes into effect—except for some automotive products for which there is a three-year transitional period. Many elements of NAFTA were retained in the new agreement; however, there are critical distinctions in USMCA. The Office of…

On June 19th, terminal operators and dock workers for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) will observe a “no workday” to commemorate the end of slavery in the US (sometimes known as Juneteenth). The work stoppage will be followed at West Coast ports, including Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle, San Diego, and others. ILWU contracts…

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has extended sixteen exclusions from list one of the Section 301 tariffs imposed on Chinese imports. The exclusions, which were set to expire on June 4th, will be extended through December 31, 2020, and are retroactive to July 6, 2018. The extended exclusions will be included under the new subheading…