On December 29, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office announced in Federal Register Notice 85 No 249 FR 85831 the extension of section 301 exclusions to twenty-four (24) medical-care products needed to address the COVID-19 outbreak.
News / Industry News
On December 23, 2020, the International Trade Administration, Department of Commerce (DOC) announced in Federal Register 85 No 247 FR 83804 the adoption of the new Aluminum Import Monitoring and Analysis (AIM) system which will act as the aluminum import license application platform.
The Port of Long Beach announced this week that it marked its best November on record. The port moved 783,523 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which represents a 30.6% increase year-over-year. The story in Long Beach is all about imports, which were up 30.5% to 382,677 TEUs. Exports were down 5.2% to 117,283 TEUs. But the most significant figure is the number of empty containers shipped back to Asia for refilling. This number jumped 55% to 283,563 TEUs.
Source: National Retail Federation Press Release – December 9, 2020
Imports remain strong after setting new records this fall as retailers stocked up both stores and warehouses for the holiday season and met new demands for quick delivery of online orders, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
Source: Institute for Supply Management – December 2, 2020
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector grew in November, with the overall economy notching a seventh consecutive month of growth, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
This is a reminder that the FDA renewals for both food facilities and medical devices are due by December 31, 2020. All domestic and foreign food and medical device facilities, along with the companies that source from them, are required to renew their registration this year.
On Wednesday, November 25, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released the hearing schedule for the investigation of Vietnam’s acts, policies, and practices related to the import and use of illegal timber and the valuation of its currency first announced in a press release on October 2.
On Tuesday, November 17, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released in Cargo System Messaging Service (CSMS) Message 44890398 updated information regarding the processing of Post Summary Corrections (PSCs). In the notice, CBP notes that they aim to prioritize processing of PSCs filed with accelerated liquidation requests over PSCs submitted without accelerated liquidation requests.
Containerized imports into the USA reached an all-time high this summer on the back of retail sales rebounding post the pandemic shutdowns, merchant inventory replenishment, and early stock up for the holiday season. After largely staying at home this spring and early summer, consumers began buying again in the third quarter, and retail supply chains are working overtime to keep up with the demand.
Numerous changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) were made in an October 30 presidential proclamation following the beneficiary developing country assessments, product reviews and eligibility review.