MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-014 – November 14, 2019

President Trump Announces GSP Changes and Other Changes President Trump has Issued a Presidential Proclamation announcing changes in Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status for seven countries. First, the Ukraine has had 138 classifications restored to GSP that had been suspended in 2017. This change went into effect on October 30, 2019. Second, Thailand will have approximately one-third of the …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 15-004 – February 26, 2015

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, …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-022 – May 05, 2025

Updated Carmichael Tariff Charts Carmichael introduced our guide to the additional tariffs being assessed by President Trump to help our customers review the tariffs. The President has been continually active with changes to the additional tariffs. Carmichael will be updating these charts and will post a link on each Memo to our clients. Here is a link to our latest …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-017 – April 03, 2025

Quick Summary on Trump Tariffs This is our summary of the recent notices for additional duties being assessed by the Trump Administration.  Guidance for the applications of the tariffs has not been issued by CBP.  We will be watching for the progress closely and will send out additional information and/or changes as we receive them. Reciprocal Tariffs On Thursday, President …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-007-MAY 28, 2024

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 …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-004 – APRIL 16, 2024

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 …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-016 – December 21, 2022

USTR Extends Several China 301 Exclusions! The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the 352 exclusions from China 301 duties that were extended back on March 28, 2022, and were due to expire on December 31, 2022, have been extended for nine months. They are now due to expire on September 30, 2023. The list of …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-015 – November 30, 2022

President Biden Requests Congressional Pressure to Resolve Potential Rail Strike The votes on the union ratification of the proposed contract with the railroads have been submitted.  8 of the 12 unions ratified the contracts and 4 rejected the contract. This has set up a potential strike after December 9, 2022, which is when the cooling off period ends. President Biden …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-004 – April 8, 2022

Congress Passes Legislation to Suspend Russia and Belarus from Normal Trade Relations The U.S. Congress has passed bill HR 7108 – Suspending Normal Trade Relations with Russia and Belarus Act and submitted it in to President Biden. This act will temporarily revoke the Most Favored Nation (MFN) status from both Russia and Belarus and subject them to HTSUS Column 2 …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 21-010 – October 4, 2021

USTR Extends Exclusions on Certain Covid-19 Pandemic Medical Care Products The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a notice that would extend the current exclusions for certain medical care products needed to address the covid-19 pandemic.  These exclusions were scheduled to expire on September 30, 202l. That date has been extended for 45 days to November 14. The …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 20-011 – October 14, 2020

CBP has Changed Some Criteria for Data for ISF Filing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a notice with a change to the format for data for filing of the Importer Security Filing (ISF). The change deals with the use of an IRS Employee Identification Number for the importer number. This is often called either an EIN number …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 20-007 – July 16, 2020

President Trump Issues Executive Order on Hong Kong Autonomy On Tuesday July 14th, President Trump issued an Executive Order regarding China’s actions in Hong Kong dealing with its new control of life in Hong Kong. The President has determined that Hong Kong is no longer autonomous from China and has suspended many of the provisions of the Hong Kong Policy …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-012 – October 4, 2019

Two New Exclusion Lists Issued for Section 301 Duties On September 27, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the latest round of approved product exclusions from China Section 301 List 1 and List 2 duties. Shortly after the announcement, on October 2, a Federal Register Notices (FRN) for these two lists of exclusions was published. The product exclusions for …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 15-001 – January 13, 2015

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 …

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MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-025 – June 02, 2025

CBP Issues Changes for Guidance to IEEPA Reciprocal In-Transit Exceptions U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has made two changes to the exemption for IEEPA-specific rates for goods in transit. The first is an extension for the entry filing date. It applies to the vessel dates loading prior to April 5, 2025, April 9, 2025, and April 10, 25. Goods …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-003 – January 29, 2025

Trump Issued America First Trade Memo On January 20 With all the speculation on when Trump will enact the new tariffs, we should first look at a memorandum that President Trump signed on his first day in office. His memo on America First Trade Policy was issued to several agencies and offices that gave instructions to investigate and review how …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-020 – NOVEMBER 25, 2024

CBP Issues Reminder of Obligations and Requirements in Completing Origin Documents U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued a reminder regarding requirements and an importer’s obligation in completing certificates of origin documents for submission to CBP such as origin declarations, origin statements and certificates of origin. In CSMS #63096696, CBP clarifies that these documents must be a responsible official of …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-018 – OCTOBER 15, 2024

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 …

MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-014-SEPTEMBER 11, 2024

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 …