The National Weather Service has issued hurricane advisories for several areas in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean related to Hurricane Dorian. Hurricane Dorian now threatens the southeast USA, including Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas over the weekend. The exact path of the storm is uncertain at this time. Companies and residents are encouraged to closely monitor the forecast in these areas and take appropriate measures.
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On Friday, August 23, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released the USTR Statement on Section 301 Tariff Action Regarding China in response to China’s “unjustified tariffs targeting U.S. products.”
The United States will be increasing by 5% the tariffs on approximately $550 billion worth of Chinese imports as follows:
The Federal Register Notice 84 FR 43304 published by the United States Trade Representative (USTR) Tuesday, August 20, 2019, announced the specifics related to the next steps for processing the new 10% tariffs on $300 billion of China products announced on August 13, 2019.
On Tuesday, August 13, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) posted a press release, USTR Announces Next Steps on Proposed 10 Percent Tariff on Imports from China.
The USTR advised that a two-phased approach will be used for the implementation of the 10 percent tariff on $300 billion of China products:
On August 2, 2019, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) published a Federal Register Notice announcing that CBP is adjusting certain customs user fees pursuant to the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for Fiscal Year 2020 in accordance with the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) as implemented by CBP regulations.
Flights into and out of Hong Kong have been cancelled by the Airport Authority Hong Kong due to the occupation of the airport by protestors. Per the Hong Kong International Airport website today, “Airport operations at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) have been seriously disrupted, all flights have been cancelled.”
HKIA, the world’s busiest cargo airport, has seen mass flight cancellations today, with all passenger flights cancelled until tomorrow morning, leading to disruptions of some cargo activities. It is inevitable that this disruption will impact freight operations, though if short-lived, its impact may be minimal.
Noatum Logistics is closely following the situation and will provide updates as received. For more information, please contact your local Noatum Logistics representative.
Source: National Retail Federation Press Release, August 8, 2019
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports are expected to continue at near-record levels this month and the remainder of the year despite a new round of tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
On Friday, August 2, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) office released its first Notice of Product Exclusions to Section 301 List 3 products currently subject to a 25% tariff. This marks the eighth round of exclusions overall.
News and weather reports (https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/) forecast that Typhoon Lekima will move from Japan’s Ryuku Islands to near or just north of Taiwan on Friday, then on to eastern China, including Shanghai, over the weekend. Typhoon Krosa remains primarily in the open waters of the Western Pacific. The Weather Channel reports:
Source: Institute for Supply Management, August 1, 2019
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in July, and the overall economy grew for the 123rd consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.