The MIQ-China team has advised that China will hold an international maritime parade on April 23, 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy. Navies from several other countries are expected to participate. The parade is to take place in the Yellow Sea off the coast of Qingdao city in Shandong province. The following parade-related activities are scheduled:
News / Supply Chain Alerts
On Monday, April 8, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office issued a press release in response to a World Trade Organization (WTO) finding that subsidies provided to Airbus by the European Union (EU) have caused adverse effects to the United States. The USTR announced that they are identifying EU products to which additional duties may be applied, pursuant to Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has notified the trade community to expect increased wait times as a result of lane closures across our Southwest border ports of entry. In a press release dated March 27, 2019, U.S. CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan noted, “CBP is facing an unprecedented humanitarian and border security crisis along our Southwest Border.” Per the release, “Up to 750 CBP officers from ports of entry along the Southwest border will soon be supporting Border Patrol with care and custody of migrants.” It is expected that the relocation of these officers will have a detrimental impact at all Southwest border ports of entry, including Mexico border crossings. The public can monitor wait times using the BWT – CBP Border Wait Times website.
On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released a second Notice of Product Exclusions to the Section 301 List 1 products currently subject to a 25% tariff.
The scope of each exclusion is governed by the 10-digit level Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers and the descriptions identified in the notice. It is important to note that these exclusions are available for any product that meets the description in the official notice, regardless of whether the importer filed an exclusion request. If you import products that fall under these descriptions, you will be able to claim an exclusion using HTS number 9903.88.06.
International transportation continues to be impacted by the India – Pakistan conflict. The MIQ India team has shared the following Information:
In a press release dated March 4, 2019, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced “the United States intends to terminate India’s and Turkey’s designation as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer comply with the statutory eligibility criteria.”
Transportation is being impacted by the current India-Pakistan conflict. Our MIQ India team advised that a short-term impact to business and freight capacity is likely, especially in Delhi. The MIQ India team has shared the following Information:
- India is on high alert.
- Pakistan air space is blocked for most flights. International flights to and from Delhi are being re-routed, adding almost 3 hours of flying time to certain parts of Europe and almost 2 hours for Dubai and the Middle East.
- The reductions in air capacity could result in additional re-routings, potential backlogs of cargo, increased need for fuel for longer routes, and possible increases in air rates.
MIQ will continue to monitor any service delays and/or routing changes that can impact transit times. We will provide updates as they are available.
For more information, please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.
On February 24, 2019, the President of the United States announced that the increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on $200 billion worth of Section 301 List 3 imports from China scheduled for March 2, 2019, is being postponed. The tariffs will remain at 10% for the foreseeable future as no new deadline for increasing the duties has been announced.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is now accepting entries for products that were excluded from the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Section 301 List 1 Tariffs on certain products imported from China. The exclusions granted thus far, which only apply to List 1 products subject to a 25 percent tariff, are retroactive to July 6, 2018, and will be effective until December 28, 2019.
The U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) finalized their Section 232 investigation into automotive imports and presented their findings to the President of the United States on February 17, 2019. The president now has 90 days to decide whether to act upon any of the recommendations.
In May 2018, the DOC self-initiated the investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 to determine whether imports of automobiles and automotive parts threaten to impair U.S. national security. If the DOC makes an affirmative determination and the president concurs, he has the authority to adjust imports, including the use of tariffs and quotas. Any action to be taken would be imposed within 15 days of the president’s decision.
The final report has not yet been released to the public. If the process is the same as the Section 232 investigation on steel and aluminum, the report would be released within the next few weeks.
For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.