MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-002 – January 09, 2025

ILA and USMX Reach Tentative Agreement – Strike Averted

The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year Master Contract.  The agreement must now be ratified by the union rank and file.  Both sides agreed to operate under the current contract while the ILA can schedule a ratification vote and the USMX members can ratify the terms of the agreement.   This action averts the strike planned to begin on January 15, 2025.

The ILA and USMX issued a joint statement: “This is a win-win agreement that protects current ILA and established a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coast ports – making them safer and more efficient and creating capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.” While the agreement dealt with the sticking point issue of automation in the ports, the actual details of the new agreement will not be released until both sides have ratified.

CPSC Sets Effective Date for Electronic Filing of Certificates of Conformity

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) detailing the effective date for all CPSC-regulated goods to be certified and are subject to the final rule on July 8, 2026, with staged enforcement on January 8, 2027, for goods entering into a Foreign Trade Zone that are later entered for consumption  The rule defines that the importer of record is responsible for supplying the data for the certificate of conformity.   The lengthy FRN can be found on the Federal Register site at: 2024-30826.pdf

Los Angeles Area Fires

The Los Angeles area has been devasted by fires.  As you know, Carmichael is headquartered in the LA area, and it is our largest branch office.  We have 130 people in our Monterey Park office.  The Eaton Fire near Pasadena impacted employees.  Many needed to evacuate, and some have lost their homes.  Many more have seen friends and family lose everything.  We are happy to report that all employees are safe and uninjured.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the entire LA area, those who have experienced loss, and those who so bravely fight these fires.  Sadly, the fires are not yet contained but we are hopeful the winds will die down and progress will be made.

China Section 301 Duty Case Has Hearings

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) heard oral arguments on the Section 301 case.  The parties, in this case, were asked to address issues of statutory interpretations such as the scope of what would be a possible modification of the original 301 tariffs under lists 1 and 2 and whether retaliatory duties were related to China’s conduct that was subject to the Section 301 investigation.  It is anticipated that the CAFC’s decision on these hearings will be issued within the next few months.