Category Archive

Several Airlines Have Suspended Service to Middle East Airports With concerns over a possible wider conflict in the Middle East, many airlines have cancelled flights to the region. Some expect to resume flights in only a few days, others will not resume their flights until the first week of November. If you are planning a shipment to export to this …

ILA and USMX Reach Wage Agreement and Current Walk Out is Over Late Thursday, the International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) and the Unites States Maritime Alliance (USMX) reached a tentative agreement that led to an accord to extend the Master Agreement and allow continued negotiations to complete the new contract. USMX agreed to a 62% increase for ILA employees over the …

Special Memo Concerning Issues During the East-Gulf Coast Port Strike Duty Payment Implications When goods that have arrived with an entry filed and released, and the cargo is still in the terminal, the clock for the payment due date does not stop even though the cargo cannot be picked up the duties and fees must be submitted timely.  We transmit …

USTR has Finalized the Proposed 301 Duty Increaase Announced in May The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released its decisions on its review of 301 tariffs it had announced in a Federal Register Notice (FRN) from May 28. It had postponed this decision from August 1.  Most of the proposed modifications remain intact. The advance FRN with all …

The Current Senate Di Minimis Bill will Not be Included in Legislation this Year We had recently written that Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore), the Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee has introduced legislation that would tighten up the Di minimis rules for entry by not allowing goods assigned additional duties by Section 301 action, nor goods subject to anti-dumping or …

Canadian Rail Strike Update Yesterday, we sent out a memo that the Canadian rail strike by Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) had started with a lockout of labor in the morning of August 22. The Canadian government has invoked Section 197 of the Canadian Labor Code  and has directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) …

The Threat of Strike at East Coast and Gulf Ports is Still Expected The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) has steadfastly said that they will walk out if the master contract with the United State Maritime Alliance (USMX) is not agreed upon by the end of September. Negotiations broke down when ILA complained about automated gate systems and some Maersk APM …

Annual User Fees Increase has been Announced U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced the annual increases in user fees. They include: Formal entry merchandise fee minimum from $29.68 to $32.71 and the maximum from $575.35 to $634.62. Informal entry; automated from $2.37 to $2.62 and manual from $7.12 to $7.85. Commercial truck arrival from $6.50 to $7.20 User …

CPSC has Started Accepting Requests for the eFiling of CPSC Certificates The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is now accepting registration requests for importers interested in testing in the CPSC eFiling systems. There will be access to up to 2,000 importers to test the systems. The eFiling will have a voluntary start up this summer after the Beta test of …

ILA Cancels Contract Discussions Over Automation Dispute The International Longshoreman’s Association (ILA) has canceled current contract negotiations over the use of automation at certain terminals. The ILA has been working on contracts with the local unions before working to finalize the main coastwise contract for six years with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX).  This all stopped when the ILA …

The USTR is Taking Comments and Requests for Exclusions for China 301 Duties  In our last Memo to Clients, we wrote about the proposed additional products subject to China 301 duties and/or substantial increases.   The Office of the USTR will accept comments on the increase and will accept new exclusion requests.  The USTR opened the comments period on May 29, …

USTR Addresses Expiring China 301 Exclusions The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has decided on the current exclusions that are due to expire on May 31, 2024.  164 of those exclusions will be extended through May31, 2025. The other 265 exclusions will be extended until June 14. 2024 to allow importers to make adjustments for the short notice and …

USTR Has Proposed Changes in China 301 Duties The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has finished its 4-year review of the Lists 3 and 4a. They will continue the imposition of the existing 301 duties and will add new items or increase 301 duties on certain products on the list. The proposed new duties will not be added …

Important message to Carmichael Customers We were notified by one of our customers that a bad actor was trying to impersonate Carmichael and provided wiring instructions to their bank account. If you ever receive an email that appears to be from Carmichael International Service providing new banking or wiring instructions, DO NOT send any money until you confirm, by phone …

House has a New Bill for GSP Renewal The Speaker of the House has announced a new bill this week for the renewal of Generalized Systems of Preferences (GSP). The GSP Reform Act, introduced by Rep. Adrian Smith, would reauthorize the GSP program until December 31, 2030. The new bill (H.R 7986) will change some of the GSP participation eligibility …

Port of Baltimore is Closed Due to Bridge Collapse Due to the tragic collapse of the Francis Scott Ke Bridge, the Port of Baltimore is indefinitely closed to all vessel traffic.  Import vessels will be diverted to other ports. Export traffic can be moved by truck or rail and go to other smaller local ports. The terminals at the Port …

Secretary of DHS will Increase Textile Enforcement It has been reported that after a virtual call with the National Council of Textile Organizations,  Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Mayorkas will increase enforcement on unfair trade practice on textile imports from China. The NCTO focused on forced labor, circumvention of U.S. free trade agreements, and the abuse of the de …

CBP Has Opened Registration to the 2024 Trade Facilitation and Summit January 10, 2024 Dear Customer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in a CSMS message that it has opened the registration to its 2024 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit (TFCS) that will take place from March 26 to March 28,2024 at the Philadelphia Marriot in Downtown Philadelphia. Those …

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT USTR has Announced Extending Existing Exclusions on China 301 Duties The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued a press release this morning announcing a 5-month extension to May 31, 2024, of the current exclusions from China 301 duty assessments that were due to expire on December 31, 2023. The USTR extended these exclusions as part of the ongoing …

Statement from CBP on Operational Changes and Resumption of Rail Operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso December 22, 2023  Dear Customer, We’ve just received the below notification from US Customs.   “To meet the challenge, we are currently seeing across the southwest border, CBP is continuing to use all available resources to ensure the safety and security of our agents …