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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-027- December 26, 2023
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-018 – September 15, 2023
CBP Announces Date of 2024 Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has sent out it “Save the Date” notification for 2023 Trade Facilitation and Caro Security Summit. The Summit will be held in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown from March 26 to March 28. CBP will issue registration instructions as we get closer …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-007-MAY 19, 2023
Update on Port Labor Contracts ILWU local 13 in Los Angeles and Long Beach had engaged in job actions in early April. There was a one-day walkout before Easter and the union increased red tagging of chassis entering the terminals which caused delays in picking up container that went one for a week. These actions ceased leading up to the …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-006-MAY-08,2023
Senator Wyden Addresses GSP as Part Comments on Trade Legislation Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-ORE) addressed Generalized System Preferences (GSP) of preferences in his comments on a China package his committee is working on to deal with economic competition with China. He mentioned that Democrats still support denying benefits under GSP for countries that do not protect women …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 23-002 – February 21, 2023
Trade Facilitation and Cargo Security Summit Registration Opens February 22nd U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will open the registration to its 2023 Trade Facilitation Cargo Summit on February 22nd, 2023, at 12:00 PM Eastern time. The Summit will be held in Boston from April 17th to April 19th. The registration information and the hotel location will be published on …
Special Memo – October 6, 2021
USTR Will Review Extending Expired Exclusions The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that they will have a review for possible reinstatement of the 549 exclusions that expired on December 31, 2020. In a USTR notice, the USTR will accept comments on its published list beginning on October 12, 2021. The comments for the need of the …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 21-003 – April 5, 2021
USTR Proposes Section 301 duties for Imports from 6 Countries The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has proposed new Section 301 duties on six countries in response to increases in Digital Service Taxes (DSTs). Each of the six countries, Austria, India, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and United Kingdom has had a separate Federal Register Notice (FRN) issued with 30 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 20-012 – December 3, 2020
CBP Issues a New WRO on Certain Cotton from China On Wednesday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made an announcement of a withhold release order (WRO) on all cotton products made by Xinjiang Production and Construction Corp. (XPCC). The WRO applies to all cotton and cotton products made by XPCC including XPCC’s subordinate and affiliated entities. This means that …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-005 – March 15, 2019
U.S. Terminates GSP Privilege for India and Turkey The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has announced that the United States will terminate Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) privileges for India and Turkey. The USTR explained that India had been subject to a compliance review for its trade barriers. India has failed to provide assurances that the criteria regarding …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-004 – February 25, 2019
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-003 – February 7, 2019
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 19-002 – January 16, 2019
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 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 15-005 – March 17, 2015
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 …
SPECIAL MEMO TO CLIENTS 25-023 – May 12, 2025
The U. S. and China Have Announced a Temporary Easing of Tariffs for 90 Days The United States and China have issued a joint statement that they would both temporarily reduce the reciprocal tariffs put in place in April. The U.S. will suspend its tariffs imposed on April 2 of 34% and April 8 of 84% but will maintain a …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-020 – April 14, 2025
Current Reciprocal Tariff Exemptions and Exclusions Late Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued an update of items excluded from reciprocal tariffs. The update includes some additional new HTSUS Numbers that have yet to be published in a Presidential Order. They include goods such as: 8471 8473.30 8486 8517.13.00 8517.62.00 8523.51.00 8524 8528.52.00 8541.10.00 8541.21.00 8541.29.00 8541.30.00 8541.51.00 8541.59.00 …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-019 – April 11, 2025
Charts on the Reciprocal and IEEPA and Other Tariffs Carmichael has put together charts as an overview to explain the details on President Trump’s tariffs. It includes all the current additional duties assessed by this administration, the duty rates, and the effective dates. They include a chart of the countries and duty assessments for the 60 countries assessed with more …
SPECIAL MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-018 – April 10, 2025
Pause on High Reciprocal Tariffs Except for China Who Faces Higher Tariffs President Trump announced a pause on reciprocal tariffs for the 60 countries with specific higher rates that were to start on April 9, that he announced last week. The general rate of 10% for all countries remains in place since April 4, including the countries that were to …
MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-016- March 28, 2025
Tidbits on Tariffs. More to Follow There is a Change in Instructions for the Smelt and Cast Declaration for Aluminum Derivatives For derivative aluminum, the filer, as an interim solution, may report any country other than the United States if the filer does not know the country of smelt or cast. Importers may submit a post-summary correction to update the …
SPECIAL MEMO TO CLIENTS ISSUE 25-013 – March 06, 2025
President Trump Grants Exemptions for Some of Canada and Mexico Tariffs Today President Trump announced that he was issuing two executive orders granting a temporary exemption from additional tariffs on products from Mexico and Canada that qualify for entry under the United States-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA). These exemptions will become effective at 12:01 AM on March 7. The orders …