Category Archive

President Trump Announces Postponement of Section 301 Tariff Increase In a tweet on Sunday, February 24, President Trump said that he will again delay the Section 301 tariff increases, which were due to go into effect on March 2. This announcement pertains to the Tranche 3 list of HTS numbers that will be increasing from 10% to 25%. The postponement …

More Information on Importing Composite Wood Products Full enforcement of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) toxic formaldehyde emissions standards under the EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) will still go into effect on March 22, 2019. These standards apply to three types of composite wood products: Hardwood Plywood MDF (medium density fiberboard) Particleboard These woods all fall under these regulations …

No Refund Checks Issued During Shutdown During the partial government shutdown, there will be no checks issued for refunds of any kind from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). All refund checks are issued by the U.S. Treasury and the Treasury department is closed during the government shutdown. CBP will continue to process protests and post summary corrections. Entry liquidations …

CBP Requiring AED on All Postal Shipments from China U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is requiring advance electronic data on all mail shipments from China, Hong Kong and Macau as of January 1, 2019. Carriers, both air and ocean, will confirm with China Postal officials that the advance data has been filed before loading the mail on their conveyance. …

Congestion May be Clearing up Sooner Than Expected At the TPM Conference in early March, many predictions were made that congestion delays would continue until the end of May. At the end of this past week we have heard from some terminal operators that the congestion is breaking up sooner than expected and we could see relief by the end …

West Coast Ports Productivity continues to improve at all West Coast ports with the exception of Oakland, where some local issues continue to be periodically disruptive to the operations. There are under 15 container ships currently anchored, which is significantly less than a couple of weeks ago. We hope to see that number much closer to zero by our next …

West Coast Ports Situation The ports along the West Coast are open and running just about full speed. Most terminals are running three shifts with a full staff and, according to the Journal of Commerce, productivity has returned to pre-negotiation levels. On the downside, it will take 2-3 months for the ports in Southern California to get back to normal, …

Terminals Operating Schedule for West Coast Ports President’s Day Weekend According to the PMA, due to the increasing slowdowns caused by the ILWU, all West Coast port terminals will either be closed or running a very limited schedule. These changes will begin today and will extend thru Monday, February 16th. All our managers and traffic staff have the list of …

ILWA/PMA Contract NegotiationAs was widely reported in the last two days, it appears that the union and employers have come to an agreement of some sort this past weekend. The topics discussed included the critical issue o chassis maintenance and repairs when conducted within the terminal(s). It has also been reported that the talks have picked up speed and could …

ILWU/PMA Contract NegotiationsLast week both sides, The Pacific Maritim Association (PMA and The Internationa Longshore and Warehouse Union(ILWU), finally agreed to a mediator from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service Initially the ILWU refuse after the PMA had requested mediation but ultimately decided to move forward. Neither side will have to accept the decision of the mediator as it is …