On Friday, June 7, 2019, the President of the United States announced that the proposed 5 percent Mexico tariffs would be “indefinitely suspended” as Mexico has “agreed to take strong measures” to curb the flow of Central America migrants into the United States.
News / Supply Chain Alerts
On Thursday, May 30, 2019, the United States Trade Representative office released a fifth Notice of Product Exclusions to Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25 percent tariff.
On Friday, May 31, 2019, the President of the United States signed a Proclamation to Modify the List of Beneficiary Developing Countries which removes India from the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) effective June 5, 2019. This action is a follow-up to the initial announcement on March 4, 2019. By statute, a 60-day notice to the U.S. Congress and India was required before the removal from GSP could become effective.
On Friday, May 31, 2019, the United States Trade Representative announced that they intend to publish a notice in the Federal Register that “extends the amount of time certain goods exported from China have to enter the United States before they will be subject to an additional tariff increase from 10 percent to 25 percent.”
On May 30, 2019, in an effort to further address illegal immigration from Mexico, the White House announced that a 5 percent tariff will be imposed on goods from Mexico effective June 10, 2019. This action is being taken under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977. Per the announcement, the tariffs will be increased pursuant to the following schedule if Mexico does not take sufficient steps to stop illegal immigration:
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada posted on Sunday, May 26, 2019, they would take limited and targeted job action on Monday morning, May 27, 2019, at the Global Container Terminals, GCT Deltaport (Delta) and GCT Vanterm (Vancouver). The ILWU did not move forward with a full-scale strike, however, an overtime ban at the GCT Deltaport and GCT Vanterm was initiated. The ILWU Canada President, Rob Ashton, advised all ports would remain open and no picket lines would go up as contract talks continue. Please refer to the ILWU press release: https://ilwu.ca/ilwu-canada-press-release-may-26-2019/.
On Thursday, May 16, 2019, the President of the United States signed two proclamations that impact trade with Turkey.
On May 17, 2019, the President of the United States issued a proclamation directing the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to pursue negotiations with the European Union, Japan and any other country the Trade Representative deems appropriate in order to address the threat to U.S. national security identified by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) Secretary. A decision to impose new tariffs on imports of automobiles and auto parts will be delayed for 180 days while the USTR pursues these negotiations.
On Friday, May 17, 2019, the United States announced the elimination of all steel and aluminum tariffs against Canada and Mexico, effective May 20, 2019. In joint statements with the United States, Canada and Mexico also agreed to eliminate all retaliatory tariffs against the U.S.
Importers are experiencing large increases in their annual customs bond amounts due to the sanctions that have been implemented on their products. Generally, bond amounts are calculated at 10% of the total amount of duty, taxes and fees paid in the previous 12 months OR calculated based on duties estimated for the next 12 months. Many of the bonds that traditionally fell below the minimum $50K amount have now more than doubled. Increased anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD) add an additional layer of complexity to these bond amounts and extend the time frames that entries remain open.