Deringer Trade Alerts

• US-China Reach Deal, Halting December 15th Section 301 Tariff Increases
  December 13, 2019
  The US and China have reached phase one of a trade agreement, which has prompted the White House to call off the Section 301 tariff increases slated for December 15th. The planned increase would’ve impacted consumer goods including toys, clothing, and cell phones. A tweet from the President today announced ...
• USMCA Moves Forward with Approval from House Working Group
  December 12, 2019
  The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) reached the next level of approval with a nod from the House working group established by Nancy Pelosi. The agreement is supposed to hit the chamber floor next week, and the White House intends to send a final implementing bill to Congress soon. The recently-amended deal ...
• Ocean Carriers Announce New Fees Associated with IMO2020, Low-Sulphur Fuel
  December 4, 2019
  Ocean carriers have begun quoting fees associated with the IMO2020 environmental requirements. For most, the effective date was quoted as January 1st; however, we have seen December 1st start dates as well. Steamship lines have dubbed the fee by different terms, without consistency by carrier alliance. APL and CMA reference low ...
• USTR Proposes Section 301 Tariffs on List of French Goods
  December 3, 2019
  The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed Section 301 tariffs of up to 100% on French goods. The action comes in response to France’s Digital Service Tax (DST), which the USTR has found to be unreasonable and restricting US commerce. The tariff would affect a list of 63 tariff ...
• CN Rail Strike to End; Operations to Resume
  November 26, 2019
  CN Rail workers and management have reached a tentative agreement to end a week-long strike. Employees are scheduled to return to work at 2PM local time with yard assignments starting at 6AM tomorrow. While the agreement is being ratified, there will be no further job action. Delays may continue as CN ...
• Additional Documentation to Be Required for Imports of Tomatoes and Peppers
  November 22, 2019
  Effective November 22, 2019, the import of fresh tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum), peppers (Capsicum spp.), and related propagative material will be restricted to prevent the spread of tomato brown rugose fruit virus into the United States. This virus is easily spread through the use of contaminated tools, hands, and plant-to-plant contact. The ...
• CN Rail Strike to Cause Cargo Delays
  November 19, 2019
  Conductors, train persons, and rail yard workers with Canadian National Railway (CN Rail) began striking today after failing to reach a compromise with management. Workers have not had a contract since late July and have concerns about wages, long hours, benefits, and working conditions. Federal mediators are joining CN Rail and ...
• Lufthansa Two-Day Strike Impacting Air Cargo
  November 7, 2019
  Today kicked off a two-day strike by Lufthansa cabin crew. Although freighters with Lufthansa Cargo will fly according to schedule, many passenger flights carrying cargo on Lufthansa will be grounded. The airline has canceled 1,300 flights, including 700 leaving Germany on November 7th and 600 leaving on November 8th. As ...
• CN Rail Voted in Favor of a Strike; Could Happen by November 19th
  October 31, 2019
  The Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) has announced that 3,000 members, employed by Canadian National Railway (CN Rail), have voted in favor of a strike. They may strike as soon as November 19th at 12:01 AM following 72 hours of notice. The employees have been negotiating for six months and ...
• Section 301 List 4A Portal to Open; More Exclusions Granted for List 3
  October 24, 2019
  On October 31, 2019, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) will open an online portal for submitting exclusion requests regarding List 4A of the Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods. The USTR provided specific procedures for requesting exclusions. After registering on the portal, submitters will need to provide ...
• FMC Seeks Comments on Demurrage and Detention Proposed Rule
  October 23, 2019
  The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) seeks comments on a proposed interpretive rule that provides guidance regarding how the FMC determines the “reasonableness of demurrage and detention practices and regulations under the Shipping Act.” Under the rule, the FMC proposes to consult a non-exclusive list of factors when evaluating claims and ...
• Section 301 Tariff Hike Canceled; Filing Guidance Provided for Exclusions
  October 14, 2019
  On Friday, President Trump called off Section 301 tariff increases on Chinese goods that were to be implemented on Tuesday, October 15th. The planned tariff hike, from 25% to 30%, was on lists 1, 2, and 3. The announcement came after Chinese and American negotiators made progress on sticking points ...
• Highlights of the U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement
  October 9, 2019
  On October 7th, the U.S. and Japan signed a limited, bilateral trade deal called the United States-Japan Trade Agreement. The deal seeks to eliminate or reduce tariffs on certain agricultural and industrial products traded between the two countries. While the effective date is January 1st, many of the tariff lines ...
• USTR Issues More Section 301 Exclusions, Announces Filing & Refund Procedures
  October 9, 2019
  On October 2nd, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) published two more sets of product exclusions from the Chinese goods subject to Section 301 tariffs. Representing HTS numbers from both tranche one and two, the exclusions are retroactive to July 6, 2018, for those on the first list ...
• FDA Publishes List of Records Required Under FSVP
  October 8, 2019
  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided resources for importers to solidify their compliance standing within the requirements of the Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) final rule, including a list of records required under the regulation. The rule requires importers to “develop, implement, and maintain” an FSVP, which ...
• US Plans Section 301 Tariffs on European Goods; EU May Retaliate
  October 7, 2019
  The World Trade Organization (WTO) has authorized the US to implement Section 301 tariffs on European goods in response to subsidies provided to Airbus. The US has announced a planned effective date of October 18, 2019. The proposed list of goods is divided into 15 sections by country and product; ...
• Imports of South Korean Steel Products Will Require Export Certificates
  September 19, 2019
  Beginning October 18th, US importers of South Korean steel products subject to absolute quota limits will be required to provide “valid and properly executed certificates of exportation.” US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the requirement in a Federal Register, dated September 18th. The quota will allow South Korea to ...
• USTR Issues New Section 301 Exclusions for Lists One through Three
  September 18, 2019
  The US Trade Representative (USTR) has issued new exclusions for goods on the first three Section 301 lists. Exclusions on the first tranche include “310 specially prepared production descriptions, which covers 724 separate exclusion requests.” The second tranche exclusions cover 89 product descriptions from 400 exclusion requests, and the third ...
• President Trump Tweets Tariff Extension for Section 301 Lists 1, 2, and 3
  September 12, 2019
  Yesterday, President Trump tweeted that the tariff increases for Section 301 lists one, two, and three will be postponed to October 15th. Duties for the goods found on these lists are slated to rise from 25% to 30%, as reported in the Federal Register on September 3rd. According to the tweet, ...
• Hurricane Dorian Shuts Down Southeastern US Ports
  September 3, 2019
  Ports along the southeastern US have been or will be temporarily shut down due to hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Dorian was downgraded from a category five to a category four hurricane, but winds are still surpassing 100 miles per hour. Incoming and outgoing shipments may be affected as follows: The port of Miami ...
• Section 301 Tariff Increases Soon in Effect
  August 30, 2019
  The increased Section 301 tariffs for List 4 were published in the Federal Register today. The US Trade Representative (USTR) has increased the additional duty from 10% to 15% on Tranche (list) 4 goods. Effective September 1, 2019, goods on List 4A will be subject to the 15% duty, and ...
• Trump Will Increase Existing and Planned Section 301 Tariffs
  August 26, 2019
  According to the US Trade Representative, the US will increase the tariff rate from 25% to 30% on the existing three lists of goods subject to Section 301. The change will go into effect starting on October 1st, following a notice and comment period. The fourth list of goods subject to ...
• Section 301: Some Articles on Fourth List to Have Delayed Effective Date
  August 13, 2019
  The US Trade Representative (USTR) announced today that some goods on list four of the Section 301 tariffs will not be subject to the 10 percent duty until December 15th. The list of goods with a delayed effective date include laptops, computer monitors, cell phones, video game consoles, some toys, ...
• MPF and Other Customs User Fees Increasing on October 1st
  August 2, 2019
  For fiscal year 2020, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will adjust Customs user fees and limitations in response to inflation calculations. In accordance with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), the minimum merchandise processing fee (MPF) will increase from $26.22 to $26.79 and the maximum will be ...
• Effective September 1st, Fourth List of Chinese Goods Subject to Section 301
  August 1, 2019
  Earlier today, President Trump indicated via Twitter that the fourth list of Chinese imported goods will be subject to a 10% tariff under Section 301 beginning September 1st. This list represents the balance of goods not already subject to the Section 301 tariffs and amounts to a $300 billion import ...
• USTR Announces Exclusions for Second Tranche of Section 301
  July 29, 2019
  The United States Trade Representative has published the first list of goods excluded from the 25 percent duty assessed under the second tranche of the Section 301 tariffs on China. These exclusions are “reflected in 69 specially prepared product descriptions, which cover 292 separate exclusion requests.” The exclusions apply to ...
• Sixth Round of Section 301 Products Excluded from Tranche One Published
  July 16, 2019
  According to CSMS #38840764, the United States Trade Representative has published the sixth round of goods excluded from the 25 percent duty assessed under the first tranche of Section 301 tariffs on China. This round of exclusions includes 110 subsets of tariff numbers found in HTS chapters 84, 85, and ...
• Steamship Lines Announce GRI for Far East to Canada & the USA
  June 18, 2019
  Major steamship lines have announced their intention to apply general rate increases (GRI) for cargo bound from the Far East and Indian sub-continent to destinations in Canada and the USA. Effective July 15, 2019, the follow GRIs apply: USD $900 per 20’ standard container USD $1,000 per 40’ standard container USD $1,125 per 40’ ...
• Bargaining Update: ILWU in British Columbia
  June 18, 2019
  The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), locals 500, 502, 505, 508, and 519, in British Columbia has tentatively scheduled a work stop meeting for tomorrow, June 19th. The action is part of the ratification process for the new collective agreement. As a result, there may be some cargo delays.
• USTR Publishes Fifth Round of Section 301 Exclusions for Tranche One
  June 11, 2019
  According to CSMS #19-000289, the United States Trade Representative has published the fifth round of goods excluded from the 25 percent duty assessed under the first tranche of Section 301. The exclusions cover one 10-digit HTSUS subheading and 88 specially-prepared product descriptions. These exclusions will have a backdated effective date ...