As we mentioned last fall, global ocean freight shipping was on the verge of facing shipping Armageddon. There was a huge shortage of equipment (empty containers), vessel delays, and sharply increasing shipping cost. In the past six months, this crisis has indeed come to pass and has in fact worsened. Many importers were hoping that…
Importers who bring in products containing composite wood need to be aware of new EPA rules that may impact their imports. The new rules are called TSCA Title VI and take effect on March 22, 2019. These rules govern formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. What is TSCA Title VI and who is impacted?…
President Trump announced today that the U.S. and China have an outline for what is being called phase 1 of a multi phase trade deal. The announcement included a decision not to increase the Section 301 List 1, 2, and 3 tariffs from 25% to 30% as scheduled on next Tuesday, October 15, 2019. Products…
USTR finally published details regarding implementation of Section 301 List#4A and List#4B tariffs. As mentioned earlier this week, List#4A will be effective September 1, 2019 while List#4B will be effective December 15, 2019. USTR has confirmed that these dates are based on entry date. Please note that September 1, 2019 falls on a Sunday. Importers…
President Trump tweeted the following message this afternoon. President Trump’s announcement is a response to China’s announcement earlier in the day that China would place a tariff on roughly $75 billion worth of U.S. goods. The key points to capture from Trump’s announcements are the following: Products that have thus far been subject to the…
The USTR published new details today regarding the implementation of China Section 301 LIst#4 tariffs with some important changes. 1) Implementation Date The USTR split the list#4 tariff and provided different implementation dates for the two lists. List 4A – Products on this list will continue to be effective on the previously announced September 1,…
List#3 Exclusions This is a friendly reminder that the List#3 exclusion process opened on June 30, 2019. The deadline for submitting exclusions is September 30, 2019. We highly recommend that importers who are seeking an exclusion hire a knowledgeable trade attorney to assist with the exclusion process. Feel free to contact us for introductions to experienced attorneys.…
The USTR announced a small extension for certain products subject to the Section 301 List#3 tariff. It was initially announced that List#3 products that exported from China prior to May 10, 2019 had a deadline to enter before June 1, 2019 to maintain a duty rate of 10%. If the products entered on June 1,…
The USTR published today a new list of products representing approximately $300 billion in goods from China that will be assessed Section 301 tariffs up to 25%. The list covers almost all products heretofore not covered in the prior lists. This list therefore includes textiles, apparel, footwear, digital cameras, smartphones, and toys. The list does exclude pharmaceuticals,…
The U.S. government has issued another amendment in the effective date for the increase in the tariff for Trump’s Section 301 Tariff List#3. There are now three categories of possible entries. Category#1: Product exported to the United States BEFORE May 10, 2019 AND entered into the United States BEFORE June 1, 2019 Products in this category will receive the…