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.”
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During the month of February 2019, MIQ Logistics was involved in a number of events throughout the logistics industry. Read industry updates, services offered by MIQ, and events that will be taking place in the February 2019 logistics link.
Source: Institute for Supply Management – March 1, 2019
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February, and the overall economy grew for the 118th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.
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.
On February 15, 2019, the President of the United States signed a mini-omnibus bill which requires the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to introduce an exclusion process for Section 301 List 3 products to Congress by March 17, 2019. The tariffs on List 3 products are currently set at 10 percent and are scheduled to increase to 25 percent on March 2, 2019.
In an explanatory statement accompanying the appropriations legislation, the USTR office was directed to establish a List 3 exclusion process “following the same procedures as those in rounds 1 and 2”.
For more information please contact your local MIQ Logistics representative.
Source: National Retail Federation – February 11, 2019
Imports at the nation’s major retail container ports have dipped since peaks seen last fall but remain at higher-than-usual levels as a possible increase in tariffs on goods from China approaches in March, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released today by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.
“With trade talks with China still unresolved, retailers appear to be bringing spring merchandise into the country early in case tariffs go up in March,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “We are hopeful that the talks will succeed, but until the trade war is behind us, retailers need to do what they can to mitigate the higher prices that will inevitably come with tariffs.”
Source: Institute for Supply Management – February 1, 2019
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in January, and the overall economy grew for the 117th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM® Report On Business®.