CBP has Issued Message on Proposed ADD/CVD on Aluminum Extrusions In a recent article, we wrote about the hearings that the Department of Commerce has initiated on a proposal for antidumping duty and countervailing duty aluminum extrusions from 14 countries. The hearings are not complete, but Case numbers have been assigned for each country. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-020-OCTOBER 17, 2023
PierPass will Increase Its Fees This month the West Coast Marine Terminal Operators Agreement (WCMTOA) announced that there be an increase in the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The TMF is collected through PierPass. The fee will be increased by 4% to $35.37 per 20-foot equivalent container (TEU) and to $71.14 per …
Special Memo – November 3, 2022
UFLPA Region Notice for MID’s In a Memo to Clients earlier this week, we wrote about U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s new instructions about adding a postal code to MID’s from sources in China. The deployment has been indefinitely postponed, but CBP has issued an alert to explain why this new requirement is being initiated. This notice can be found …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-012 – October 14, 2022
The USTR Announced a New Review of Section 301 China Duties The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced its plans for conducting a review of the Section 301 China duties. The USTR has determined that the Section 301 China duties for Lists 1 and 2 will be continued. With the extension of these duties, it is a …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-009 – August 18, 2022
User Fee Increase Coming October 1 U. S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced an increase in user fees in a Federal Register Notice (FRN) issued on August 1, 2022. Cobra fees for 23 separate user fees will be increased. This includes Merchandise Processing Fees charged on Customs entries. For formal entries, the ad valorum rate of .3465% will …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-003 – March 18, 2022
FMC Holds Hearings on Enforcement The Federal Maritime Commissions (FMC) has held hearings on enforcement activities that included prioritizing enforcement efforts dealing with ocean carrier behavior in compliance, particularly with the guideline that the FMC issued in 2020. Personnel from the Bureau of Enforcement covered how they are meeting the direction from Chairman Maffei on enforcement efforts on unreasonable demurrage …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 22-002 – February 24, 2022
FMC Commissioner Daniel Maffei Disparages PierPass The West Coast Terminal Operator Agreement (WCMTOA) filed an amendment to the PierPass agreement that would make it a permanent program. PierPass is an incentive program to assess fees to beneficial cargo owners to encourage use of off-peak gate services to help eliminate heavy daytime traffic at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 21-012 – November 22, 2021
Schumer wants to add MTB and GSP Renewal to NDAA Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has written to his colleagues that it is likely that the Senate will consider the National Defense Authorization Act this week and that the China package that includes the renewal of the Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) that the …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 21-007 – July 27, 2021
FMC has Established an Ocean Carriers Audit Program The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) has established an Ocean Carriers audit program. Its intent will be to assess if carriers and terminals are following the FMC rules on practices of fairly charging demurrage and detention. We will follow up with FMC to find out if beneficial cargo owners can submit information to …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 20-008 – August 5, 2020
USTR Issues FRN asking for Comments for Extending Exclusions on List 1 The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register Notice (FRN) on Monday asking for comments to extend for possible 12 more months the exclusions on list 1 that are due to expire on October 2, 2020. There are 3 lists of exclusions that are …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-010 – July 10, 2019
Proposed Section 301 Tranche 4 Still on Hold At the start of new negotiations with China, President Trump stated that he would not request the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to start any new Section 301 duties while China and the United States continue their negotiations. Since then there has been no formal announcement from either President …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 15-003 – February 12, 2015
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25 – 027 June 20, 2025
Trump Announces U.S.- U.K. Tariff Deal President Trump has announced in an executive order an agreement with the United Kingdom in dealing with section 232. There will be a Section 232 quota tariff for British cars of 7.5%. This will bring the combined regular MFN duty and the 232 duties to a total of 10% for the first 100,000 cars. …
SPECIAL MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-014 – March 10, 2025
Big Change in Mexico and Canada IEEPA Additional Duties On Thursday, President Trump issued two new executive orders dealing with the additional IEEPA additional duties. Any products of Canada and Mexico that qualify for Duty-Free treatment under the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA) will not be subject to the IEEPA additional tariffs. These orders with the exemptions that began …
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-001 – January 03, 2025
January 9 Declared a Day of Mourning for Jimmy Carter President Joe Biden has issued an Executive Order declaring Thursday, January 9, to be a day of mourning for the passing of former President Jimmy Carter. All Federal Agencies will be closed except for essential personnel as is followed for all federal holidays. Mexico Will Restrict Some Temporary Imports Under …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 24-022 – December 20, 2024
GSP Will Probably Not be Passed in the Lame Duck Session and Possible Government Shutdown We have been expressing our hopes that GSP would be passed and attached to the stopgap spending bill. There are now last-minute concerns over the costs of some programs that were included in the package that are being discussed to be pulled from the spending …
SPECIAL MEMO TO CLIENTS 24-016 – October 02, 2024
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-012 – JULY 17, 2023
ILWU Canada and BCMEA Reach a Tentative Agreement to End Strike Federal mediators in Canada presented terms to both the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA). On Thursday, July 13, 2023, both sides tentatively agreed to the terms. This agreement is subject to ratification by both parties, but the agreement …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-004 April 03, 2023
CIT Holds that USTR Complied with the Administrative Procedure Act in China 301 Duty Case The Court of International Trade (CIT), in a decision on March 17, has held that the Office of the U.S March 17Trade Representative (USTR) complied with the Administration Procedure Act when it set up the lists 3 and 4(a) of the Section 301 duties assessed …