News / Supply Chain Alerts

On January 11, 2019, in letters to lawmakers, United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer made clear that an exclusion process will not be initiated for the Section 301 List 3 products unless negotiations with China fail and the tariff on $200 Billion is raised from 10% to 25%. This increase is currently scheduled for March 2, 2019.

Lighthizer went on to address a request to exempt Chinese goods admitted into Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZ’s) by noting, “the longstanding rules and practices governing such entries continue to apply.” He continued, “As of this time, we have not found a basis for exempting U.S. importers who use FTZ’s from the additional duties when those duties apply to all other U.S. importers.”

For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.

U.S. West Coast ports, specifically Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals, continue to experience heavy congestion due to the unprecedented volumes arriving in the U.S. in anticipation of the upcoming Lunar New Year and the pending tariff changes. Containers are sitting longer than normal, and once the containers are out-gated, many are staying out longer than normal. These delays are contributing to chassis shortages in the area.

Key contributing factors:

Read More

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is advising that after March 22, 2019, all regulated composite wood products (i.e., panels) created from binding strands, particles, fibers, veneers, or boards of wood together with adhesives (i.e., glues), including hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard (includes thin-MDF), and particleboard must be certified and labeled as compliant with the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Title VI. All labels must include the panel producer’s name, lot number, and an EPA-recognized TSCA Title VI third-party certification (TPC) number. All importers will be responsible for providing a positive TSCA Import Certification for all applicable shipments, which will be transmitted to CBP via the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Upon request by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), importers must make available within thirty (30) calendar days certain records that document compliance with this rule. Recordkeeping requirements apply.

Read More

To keep the U.S. trade community informed during the Federal Government shutdown, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is holding weekly calls with the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA).

This week CBP made the following announcements to the NCBFAA:

Read More

On Wednesday, December 19, 2018, the U.S. Trade Representatives (USTR) office released a modification to the effective date of the Section 301 tariffs on China goods in the Federal Register Notice (83_FR_65198).

Phase 1 of the Section 301 tariffs, which placed a 10% additional tariff on $200 billion of China goods (List 3), went  into effect September 24, 2018. This recently released modification effects Phase 2 of the implementation, which will increase the additional tariffs on the 5700+ China goods specified in Phase 1 to 25%. The Phase 2 implementation, originally scheduled for January 1, 2019, is now set for March 2, 2019.

For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.

U.S. West Coast ports, specifically Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals have received unprecedented volumes and are experiencing extreme congestion prior to the Lunar New Year. Containers are reportedly sitting longer than normal, and once the containers are out-gated, many are staying out longer than normal. These delays are contributing to chassis shortages in the area.

Read More

On Saturday, December 1, 2018, the President of the United States agreed to suspend the increase in tariffs scheduled for January 1, 2019. The White House issued a statement, which included the following: “… President Trump has agreed that on January 1, 2019, he will leave the tariffs on $200 billion worth of product at the 10% rate, and not raise it to 25% at this time.”

Read More

On November 08, 2018, a second BNSF train derailed on the San Bernardino subdivision between Prado Dam and Esperanza, CA, impacting BNSF main line tracks. The first main track was opened on November 08, 2018, at 7:20 a.m. CST, and the second main track was opened on November 08, 2018, at 12:30 p.m. CST.

The derailments added to the congestion the market has already been experiencing due to increased volumes. BNSF implemented the following restrictions as part of the recovery effort:

Read More

On Monday, October 15, members of the West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) announced the revised Off-Peak program for providing extended gate hours at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach (PierPass 2.0) is expected to start Nov. 19, subject to the conclusion of applicable Federal Maritime Commission procedures. The current congestion-pricing model, including a Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) charged on daytime moves, will be replaced with an appointment-based system that uses a single flat fee on both daytime and nighttime container moves. (Source: www.pierpass.org/)

The following is what you need to know about the changes effective November 19:

Read More

The next FDA Renewal period begins October 1, 2018. All domestic and foreign food and medical device facilities, along with the companies that source from them, are required to renew their registration during the period from October 1, 2018, through December 31, 2018.

Read More