President Trump and President Xi of China concluded a “highly successful meeting” on Saturday resulted in a moratorium on the Section 301 tariff increases that were slated for effect on January 1, 2019. The tariff increase from 10% to 25% on $200 billion of Chinese-origin goods, or tranche 3, is

Major steamship lines have advised of an intended 2019 GRI for all eastbound cargo moving from the Far East and India to the US and Canada. The GRI comes directly before the congestion of Chinese New Year, which occurs in early February and often lasts for several weeks. Over the

UPS Freight, UPS’ less-than-truckload (LTL) unit, may strike after November 12th unless the union and management can come to a contract agreement. Employees of UPS Freight will vote on a proposed contract between November 9th and 11th. This division is operated separately from other units, so there’s no anticipated impact

The Canadian seaports of Vancouver, Prince Rupert, and Halifax are experiencing delays resulting from increased dwell time (waiting time for loading onto rail). Vancouver dwell times are ten to fifteen days, and Prince Rupert dwell times are five to ten days. On the East Coast, dwell times in Halifax are

PierPass, the system used by the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to mitigate truck congestion at the ports, will change next month. An appointment-based system with a single flat fee for daytime and nighttime container moves will replace PierPass, and the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) previously assessed only

Montreal Gateway Terminals (MGT) recently provided notice of extended truck gate operating hours. The new hours come with an associated fee of $35 per full inbound or outbound container. Shippers should anticipate that the fees will be passed along in new trucking rates. The fee will help support the operational

On September 30, 2018, the US, Mexico, and Canada reached an agreement on a revised North American trade deal. The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will replace the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The agreement will not go into effect until 2020, after approval by the three countries’ governments. The

Severe weather and vessel congestion in Asia have caused delays for ocean shipments en route from Asia to North America. The delays may cause vessel bunching at some ports. Some ocean carriers are slowing vessels to avoid delays at ports of discharge. Zim announced plans to slow their vessels, which

The US will impose tariffs on a third list (i.e., tranche) of Chinese goods subject to Section 301 duty. A 10% duty rate will be applicable to 5,745 tariff lines of goods, valued at $200 billion, effective September 24, 2018. On January 1, 2019, this duty rate will increase to

On August 7, 2018, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) published the list of 279 Chinese imported products that will be subject to an additional tariff of 25 percent. As part of the Section 301 tariffs previously announced, the tariff is being imposed as a response to China’s unfair trade

Under the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 and the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, facilities which engage in the manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of food for consumption in the US must register with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These facilities are required to reaffirm the information submitted by

The Globe and Mail quoted Amy Mangus, Deringer’s Director of Customs Affairs and Compliance, regarding the rise of consulting needs following the recent tariff increases. “Amy Magnus, director of customs affairs and compliance at Deringer, said her firm has seen increasing appetite for its consulting services, with particular interest in

In the fiscal year 2019, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will adjust Customs user fees and limitations for inflation. In accordance with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), the minimum merchandise processing fee (MPF) will increase to $26.22 from $25.67 and the maximum will be raised to

All India Motor Transport Association has ended their eight-day strike after a meeting with the government resulted in an agreement that most of their demands would be considered.  The strike, which began on June 20, 2018, demanded reduced diesel prices by bringing the fuel under the Goods and Services Tax

On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, Cosco Shipping’s US operations suffered a cyber attack, impacting its internet connection and compromising the carrier’s ability to communicate with its vessels, customers, vendors, and marine terminals.  It’s unknown how long it will take to restore full operations. Cosco’s overseas operations were not affected and

Chinese-origin goods subject to the new Section 301 tariffs qualify for duty drawback. For exporters, the duty drawback eligibility will help mitigate the costs resulting from the increased tariffs. A few days before the tariffs went into effect, the US government announced that the Section 301 duties would qualify for

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began implementing changes to the in-bond process, as published in a final rule last fall. The rule changes are intended to enhance CBP’s ability to regulate and track in-bond goods and ensure they are properly entered or exported. As found in CBP’s online in-bond

The US Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed a new, additional 10 percent tariff on 6,031 8-digit tariff lines of Chinese goods. The proposed list of goods, equating to approximately $200B worth of imports, is on pages 11 through 205 of the USTR publication released on July 10th. The type of

Over the last several days, Mumbai, India has seen heavy rainfall resulting in flooding. Public transportation, railways, sea ports, and airports are impacted. The port of Nhava Sheva and Mumbai airport are experiencing staffing shortages and operational issues causing a delay in the movement of cargo transportation. Over the next

All India Motor Transport Association has called for a strike beginning July 20th. The strike is in protest of frequent fuel price increases, national road permit issues, and unclear toll policies. It’s anticipated that a variety of associations and political parties will support a strike. In the event of a