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.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
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.
Noatum Logistics will be closing our Miami office on Monday, November 9, 2020, due to dangerous weather conditions from Tropical Storm Eta.
Effective October 1, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) adjusted certain customs user fees pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for fiscal year 2021 in accordance with the Fixing American’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) as implemented by CBP regulations.
On Friday, October 2, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office announced in a press release that it is “initiating an investigation addressing two significant issues with respect to Vietnam.”
On Thursday, October 1, 2020, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released CSMS Message 44279197 to inform the trade of the expiration of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).
Ocean Freight rates on the Asia to US trade lane and specifically to the US West Coast are at record high levels after two months of continuous increases. Rates are anticipated to stay elevated throughout the duration of this peak season. A variety of market forces and unique economic circumstances have combined to push rates to unprecedented levels in 2020.
On September 15, 2020, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office announced in a Statement on Canadian Aluminum that they will “resume duty-free treatment of non-alloyed, unwrought aluminum.” This change will be effective retroactively to September 1, 2020.