Trade and Compliance

The ship-to-shore cranes had been removed from List 3 of Section 301 tariffs on China but were later added to proposed List 4.

Tariffs on steel will remain in place after the court declined to review an American Institute for International Steel case challenging the president’s constitutional authority.

To avoid paying the proper import tax, Timothy Stanfield of Ready Made RC intentionally understated the value of lithium polymer batteries from China.

Express carrier giant argues when it comes to compliance with the Export Administration Regulations that it’s “a transportation company, not a law enforcement agency.”

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will boost trade between African partner states by removing tariffs. This helps the U.S. improve trade relations as it takes out the need to draft separate trade agreements with individual African states.

Business is good at the Otay Mesa port of entry, California’s largest commercial land port of entry, which tallied a record $50 billion in two-way trade with Mexico during the […]

Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced June 21 that he would send another 1,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to aid the federal government with border security […]

Starting Sunday the electronic portal will be available to seek exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on $200 billion worth of goods from China.

The president authorized financial sanctions against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and certain Revolutionary Guard officers in response to military tensions in the Persian Gulf.

Bonuses help attract officers in hard-to-fill locations, senior official says.

Drewry says while the U.S.-China trade war is bad news for the transpacific container trade, it could result in more transport of intermediate goods.

Market expert writes about the latest tensions in the Mideast and how that might impact air and sea cargo, as well as supply chains.

Five Chinese firms added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List operate under myriad aliases, challenging U.S. export compliance managers.

Mexico became the first country to ratify the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) when its Senate approved it by a vote of 114 in favor to 4 against on June 19. […]

State-to-state dispute settlement issue potentially could be solved through an exchange of letters, says executive of Mexican business association.

Responding to Hong Kong’s proposed extradition legislation, Congress aims to shut down the territory’s transshipment channels to China and other sanctioned countries.

Japanese company Inpex (TSE: 16050) has today announced that it has filed a revised plan of development for the US$18-$20 billion Abadi Liquefied Natural Gas Project. The revised plan is […]

“We should work collaboratively for … passage of a trade agreement that creates jobs, protects workers and consumers,” said Rep. Mike Thompson of California.

President Trump wants the federal government to weed out hundreds of no longer needed or inactive advisory committees from its roster.

A colder than normal spring across northwestern Mexico meant the Mexican table grape export campaign suffered a delay of several weeks, spiking demand in June for reefer trucks out of […]

Truck-borne freight is the most popular target for thieves, according to a new global study by cargo insurer TT Club and supply chain consultant BSI. Trucks and truckers face a variety of threats including firearm-bearing kidnappers and fake ‘police.’

The FreightWaves Freight Intel Group is producing research culled from FreightWaves SONAR and other sources. Read about its first several research papers and how to learn more.

Passage of USMCA in the United States must happen this year or wait for implementation in 2021.

The U.S. trade representative appeared before the Senate Finance Committee Tuesday on the first day of congressional hearings on the Trump administration’s trade agenda.

Fr8Hub recently announced that it will expand its services to provide domestic freight matching throughout Mexico, connecting shippers with available carriers throughout the country. The Fr8Hub carrier network currently features […]

U.S. Chamber of Commerce officials on Monday said several factors indicate that the effort to secure U.S. approval of the pact recently has gained momentum.

Market expert Brian Aoaeh writes about the new Digital Shipping Container Alliance and why standards are important to industry. He also writes about why getting standards written and adopted is particularly difficult.

Funding means “cross-border commerce critical to our economy is not impeded,” trade groups, chambers of commerce and companies said in a letter. 

The inclusion of ship-to-shore gantry cranes in the fourth tranche of Chinese tariffs would increase the costs by millions, AAPA President and CEO Nagle said.

Chinese telecom giant’s CEO Ren Zhengfei expects his company to lose $30 billion in revenue in 2019, mostly due to Commerce’s Entity List and the U.S.-China trade war.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is authorized by law to periodically adjust its civil penalty amounts for violations of various foreign financial transaction controls.

Port of Virginia sees tariffs putting its billion-dollar expansion at risk.

Trans-border freight totaled $107.2 billion in March, with trucks moving 63 percent of all freight by value with United States trading partners Canada and Mexico, according to data released by […]

Market expert Cathy Roberson writes about the growth of pharmaceuticals and life sciences cargo at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and the airport’s agreement with Amerstdam Schipol Airport.

The agency anticipates submitting the report to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative by March 31.

Tricon and owner Haoyang Yu were charged in a federal court in Boston on Friday with illegally exporting integrated circuits that contained stolen trade circuits from a U.S. firm.

FreightWaves’ SONAR chart of the week (June 16, 2019 – June 22, 2019) Chart of the Week: Drewry World Container Index – Shanghai to Los Angeles and Shanghai to New […]

Donald Broughton explains the harm that tariffs can do to the economies of the United States, the country(ies) that tariffs are imposed on and the global economy.

The letter, organized by Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, said additional tariffs would result in the loss of 2 million American jobs and reduce the value of the GDP by 1%.

The National Economic Council director said at an event in Washington Thursday that the ongoing bilateral tit for tat will have minimal economic impacts on U.S. consumers.

The scale and growth of China’s domestic over-the-road trucking and international ocean container shipping trade has been revealed in new data from the country’s Ministry of Transport.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative grants a second round of exclusions from Section 201 global safeguard duties on solar cells covering three products.

Scale and critical mass matter to transshipment hubs, but location and inland connectivity are more important to gateway terminals, said Drewry’s Neil Davidson.

The McAllen Economic Development Corporation (EDC) recently worked with officials in the Mexican city of Reynosa to build two new maquiladoras (also known as maquilas), in addition to a major […]

The committee’s favorable reporting of the nominees clears the way for the full Senate to consider confirmation of Amy Karpel and Randolph Stayin.

A House Agriculture Committee panel heard testimony from Trump administration ag officials during a hearing that widely touched on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

Supply chains are forced to contend with risks involving border skirmishes, trade wars and embargoes, with even climate change having a bearing on its fortunes.

FreightWaves Market Expert Anthony Smith writes about the issues impacting the U.S. housing market. As important as these issues are, they have a ripple effect on other areas of the U.S. economy, including trucking.

Nicholas Press, Founder and President of CEC Systems, explores the maritime industry’s problem with empty containers and explores potential solutions to deal with them.

Laredo’s historic reign as the top United States trade port was short-lived, as the Port of Los Angeles rebounded from its lowest monthly total in three years, enabling it to […]

Werner Enterprises continues to invest in U.S.-Mexican trade, regardless of the ups and downs of President Donald Trump’s trade negotiations. In May, Werner opened a new 17,000-square foot refrigerated cross-dock […]

“Authorized filers will be able to file electronically in ACE and will no longer have to submit paper nor mail in checks to pay duties for these filings,” CBP said.

The Global Ports Tracker forecasts higher import totals between June and September for the U.S. ports it covers, but the projections are lower than forecasts from May.

The highways of Mexico continue to be risky for truckers as cargo thefts rose 6 percent for the first four months of 2019, according to the Mexico City-based National Chamber […]

Mexico had a close shave with avoiding trade tariffs last week, but it is essential for the freight industry to understand the disruption tariffs could create on cross-border trade.

Higher cost of Chinese goods could result in lower transpacific volumes and need for more direct calls at ports near new suppliers.

President Trump agreed to indefinitely suspend threatened tariffs against Mexico after a deal aimed at stemming the flow of illegal migration to the United States was reached.

FreightWaves’ SONAR chart of the week (June 9, 2019 – June 15, 2019) Chart of the Week: Wait Time (El Paso, Laredo) (SONAR: WAIT.ELP, WAIT.LRD) International trade has been a […]

Market expert Donald Broughton writes about the numerous consequences of a U.S. Mexico trade war and the damage that will be done on both sides of the border.

While Commerce calls for increased domestic production of “critical minerals,” it highlights the need to boost investment and trade with countries friendly to the U.S.

Thursday will be the last day the current Regulations.gov system will accept totally new requests for exclusions from Section 232 measures on steel and aluminum.

Industry expresses disappointment that Customs’ umbrella system remains vulnerable to shutdowns.

For the first time in its 168-year history, Port Laredo is No. 1. Laredo surpassed Los Angeles as the nation’s busiest trade hub, including airports, seaports and international border crossings. […]

The federal agency announces the names of 168 individuals and entities banned from exporting defense articles that require a State Department license.

The federal agency announces the names of 23 individuals and entities banned from exporting defense articles that require a State Department license.

Iranian citizen Peyman Amiri Larijani faces up to 20 years in jail if convicted on charges that he and co-conspirators facilitated exports of U.S.-made plane parts to Iran’s airlines.

Senators press BIS nominee on the administration’s failure to release details of Commerce’s national security investigation into automobile and related parts imports.

Market expert Henry Byers examines the U.S.-Chinese trade war and its impact on imports and the broader economy.

As the administration ratchets up Section 301 tariffs on China, it appears it is directing less attention to the overarching goal of balancing the trade relationship, a witness said.

Executives from Redwood Logistics, Forager Logistics, and Transplace discussed the risks posed by new tariffs on Mexican imports.

Australia’s border biosecurity system was stretched “close to breaking point” and had “severe impacts on sections of the shipping and exporting industries,” says the Inspector-General of Biosecurity.

Trade growth, demography and land use changes in the city of Melbourne, Australia, have made necessary a shift of freight from truck to rail, according to an analysis by Melissa Horne, Victorian Minister for Ports and Freight.

Market expert writes about how current trade issues between the U.S. and China, the U.S. and Mexico and the U.S. and the EU may disrupt supply chains and cause economic problems.

Market expert Cathy Roberson writes about the decline in global air cargo traffic; the only bright spot is in Latin America. Read why!

Effective Wednesday, the rule will amend the Export Administration Regulations’ aircraft, vessels and spacecraft license exception.

Trade war tariffs are hurting the competitiveness U.S. businesses working in China, according to the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China). Tariff troubles increased over the weekend as the latest round of Chinese tariffs on $60 billion of U.S. goods began on Saturday, June 1.

Flexport hired a former White House trade and economic advisor in a bid to harness research from the digital first forwarder’s datasets and to help customers navigate the shifting sands […]

Panelists at a University of North Florida roundtable event said technology can help companies remain flexible and agile as the political environment shifts.

The action was taken after the Trump administration determined that India failed to provide the U.S. with fair market access.

No doubt these are unsettling and downright worrisome times, especially for those with global operations that conduct business with China and want to do the right thing. 

The exclusions on such products as oil pumps, forklifts, garage door openers and medical equipment will be retroactive to July 6 and extend through June 4, 2020.

Airline Garuda Indonesia has been ordered by an Australian court to pay A$19 million (US$13.14 million) in penalties for air cargo price fixing as part of a massive international cartel. Australian penalties of A$132.5 million (US$91.64 million) have so far been levied against 14 airlines.

There was a significant outcry among customs brokers at the southern border after President Trump tweeted last week that he plans to impose tariffs on all goods from Mexico to […]

Consultant warns exporters still need to exercise common sense to ensure there’s no suggestion that the integrity of an export transaction is suspect.

The administration sent to Congress a draft statement to propel USMCA implementing legislation Thursday, the same day Trump tweeted he plans to impose tariffs on Mexico.

COAC’s Northern Triangle Working Group gains momentum with 50 members and involvement from nongovernmental organizations and the United Nations. 

Tariffs starting June 10 at 5 percent to escalate to 25 percent by October 1.

Japan, Germany and Malaysia among the countries that met two of three criteria to be designated by the Treasury as a currency manipulator, but no country met all three.

‘Qualitative’ retaliation could take the form of increased inspections, difficulty in getting licenses, and delays and investigations for environmental compliance.

With COAC’s help, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seeks to devise an online strategy to better target illicit exports before they can leave the country.

Mexico is benefiting from the CPTPP accord and booming beverage business, but its auto industry is slowing down and it’s dealing with trucking delays at the U.S. border.

DHL, FedEx and UPS have dominated the global express market for years but recently, China’s express providers (including YTO Express, STO Express and SF Express) have been nipping at the […]

The AB has four vacancies, with two current members on the seven-position panel expected to depart in December, which would render it inoperative.

New BIS licensing designation puts Maduro regime among those countries of U.S. national security concern, such as China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba and Syria.

The Chinese Belt and Road Initiative aims to create seamless freight movement between Europe and Asia, but the sustainability aspect of the project is still unclear.

The most recent and announced potential future duties will reduce global GDP, the intergovernmental group stated in a report released Thursday.

China’s ports have handled just under 4.3 billion tons of cargo between January to April. The country’s main seaports have also handled 82.3 million TEU.

The congressional watchdog agency said the trade financing bank should use GSA’s system as a tool to identify applicants with delinquent federal debt indicators.

The five technologies identified by the Wassenaar Arrangement members were added to Commerce’s export control list based on their threat to national security.

The Justice Department said Edison, N.J. resident Gene Shilman now faces up to five years in jail for violating the Arms Export Control Act.