Office operations that remain open implement CDC guidance to protect employees from spreading or contracting COVID-19.

“With ongoing challenges posed by the coronavirus, there is real concern about these fees being assessed when there are equipment issues beyond the control of the shipper or motor carrier,” 67 trade associations told the Federal Maritime Commission.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security said the 24 companies and individuals added to the Entity List pose a U.S. national security and foreign policy risk.

“The American public should be aware of bogus home testing kits for sale either online or in informal direct to consumer settings,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added Russian oil company overseas affiliate TNK Trading International in Switzerland to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.

The Commerce Department’s Census Bureau and Bureau of Industry and Security believe an upcoming proposed rulemaking may resolve the regulatory confusion for required export data.

“Right now, I believe most ocean carriers and marine terminal operators are acting responsibly and fairly in these challenging conditions,” FMC Commissioner Daniel Maffei said.

“As an industry representing brands and retailers, we do not tolerate forced labor in our supply chains,” said five large U.S. apparel and footwear associations.

Trump administration reminds U.S. exporters of semiconductors and other technologies that it views the Chinese telecom equipment manufacturer as a continued security threat.

Airforwarders Association Executive Director Brandon Fried said minimizing threat of illegal drugs requires freight forwarders to “know your customer.”

“China has continued to embrace a state-led, mercantilist approach to the economy and trade, despite WTO members’ expectations,” the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said in its annual report to Congress.

The fake Oral-B toothbrush heads, which arrived at Philadelphia airport from Turkey, were likely made in “unsanitary facilities with substandard materials,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.

The test in Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment will be the third between the Fish and Wildlife Service and relevant importers since May 2016.

“In 2020 both governments expect to implement low-cost, high-impact strategies to simplify customs and immigration screening and reduce wait times,” the U.S. State Department said.

The 2019 Protecting America’s Food and Agriculture Act provides funding to help Customs and Border Protection close a shortfall among its agriculture specialist ranks over the next three years.

The UN Human Rights Council has developed a database identifying companies that conduct business with Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Matthew Taylor of Shintan Inc. was ordered by the U.S. Department of Justice to pay back $7.5 million in illicit tax credits obtained from the IRS.

“This exception ensures that the declaration requirement fulfills the intent of the Lacey Act while reducing the regulatory burden on importers,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

A proposed $1.8 billion sale of U.S.-origin air defense systems is expected to open a pathway to increased exports to the South Asian economy.

The federal court affirmed an earlier decision by the Court of International Trade, despite a challenge from the American Institute for International Steel claiming the president overstepped his authority.

The National Treasury Employees Union tells House appropriators that Customs and Border Protection requires an additional 1,100 officers and staff to carry out its mission at the nation’s ports of entry.

Unix Line admitted that its tanker, Zao Galaxy, illegally discharged oily bilge at sea while on route from the Philippines to California’s Port of Richmond in late January 2019.

SITA committed 9,256 violations of the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations between 2013 and 2018 by providing services from and transiting through the U.S. to blacklisted Syrian and Iranian airlines.

U.S. export licenses are required for numerous types of highly infectious diseases that are shared in the form of samples for medical research between labs around the world.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said most benefits of “Phase One” trade deal with China should be realized in 2020, despite commercial disruption from coronavirus.

Democratic Senators Charles Schumer and Sharrod Brown say sanctions should target not only the responsible Russian government agencies and officials, but President Vladimir Putin.

The Commerce Department wants to further restrict U.S.-origin items that could assist in nuclear and missile weapons development and diversion efforts in the two countries.

The nationwide retailer has become the first participant in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Voluntary Qualified Importer Program, which aims to reduce foodborne illnesses from imports.

The Justice Department said the former owners of Road Tire Plus Corp. in South Florida avoided paying federal tax on tire imports.

The Justice Department said eight U.S. cities account for 75% of the methamphetamine seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The 2018 Frank LoBiondo Coast Guard Authorization Act clarified and enhanced the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission’s authority over licensed ocean transportation intermediaries.

The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation ordered the revocation of export licenses linked to violators of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at International Falls, Minnesota, discovered the illegal product in two 40-foot containers from China.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has added the Swiss-based oil brokerage arm of Rosneft Trading to the SDN List for its recent arrangements to transport sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Airbus warned that tariff increase on European aircraft would result in “more instability for U.S. airlines that are already suffering from a shortage of aircraft.”

USTR’s Bilateral Evaluation and Dispute Resolution Office will ensure China commits to “Phase One” trade obligations and provide forum for settling disputes involving the bilateral trade pact.

The Commerce Department wants to tighten the licensable requirement for exports containing U.S. semiconductor components to 10% for the Chinese telecom.

“We will continue to work with the FMC to make sure that outdated regulations do not prevent the marketplace from working at maximum efficiency,” said World Shipping Council President and CEO John Butler.

The Justice Department also said Huawei and its subsidiaries violated the RICO Act by stealing trade secrets and copyrighted works from six U.S. companies.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to roll out a handful of new trade processing functions in the Automated Commercial Environment throughout the year.

The Distilled Spirits Council is “gravely concerned” that an ongoing trade spat between the U.S. and EU will upend a decade-long increase in international sales.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative said the trade dispute settlement body has overstepped its function and makes “erroneous interpretations” of World Trade Organization agreements.

The proposed budget includes $2 billion to construct another 82 miles of border wall along the U.S.-Mexican border and more than $160 million to hire and train 750 Border Patrol agents.

Lawmakers want the Defense Department to explain within 60 days why it rejected a Commerce Department proposal to tighten the U.S. content threshold for exports to the Chinese telecom.

The District Court of Hawaii said Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement (Singapore) PTE Ltd. will implement an environmental compliance plan for all of its 38 vessels calling U.S. ports.

President Trump directed the removal of sanctions against the Turkish defense and energy ministries on Oct. 23.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added CONVIASA and its aircraft fleet to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List for supporting Maduro regime.

The East African country is “an important strategic partner of the United States, and there is enormous potential for us to deepen our economic and commercial ties,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said.

With smartphones and other mobile devices vital to how companies conduct business, corporate compliance officers strive to prevent unlawful exports of controlled data.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control said the action will block property of individuals helping to destabilize the West African country.

The country’s Customs Tariff Commission, which announced the move Thursday, said the reductions will take effect Feb. 14.

President Trump tells the nation he kept his campaign promise to renegotiate the 26-year-old trilateral trade agreement with Canada and Mexico.

“The Trump administration is taking action to level the playing field for American businesses and workers,” Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said.

“As long as there continues to be a lack of cargo and documentation handling in the ports due to the virus, our exporters and importers shouldn’t be on the hook for per diem or demurrage charges,” AgTC Executive Director Peter Friedmann said.

The U.S. International Trade Commission, in response to a recent request from the House Ways and Means Committee, will investigate the integrity of the country’s seafood import supply chain.

Chinese carrier’s formerly idled VLCCs return to a transport market already suffering from falling rates, Stifel Maritime analyst said.

The Swiss government will serve as the go-between to manage financial transactions involving medical and other exports to Iran and ensure Iranian sanctions are not violated.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the 73% collected-duty increase over last year was mostly the result of ongoing punitive import duties on steel, aluminum and Chinese goods.

Moscow-based Grand Service Express began offering service to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula in December.

In return, the South American country wants the U.S. to recognize singani as its national alcoholic beverage in strengthening bilateral trade ties.

U.S. Justice Department announced the arrest of Harvard University’s chemistry department chair on charges of lying about financial and research connections to the Chinese government.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based shipowner agreed to pay a $1,125,000 civil penalty to the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for Burma sanctions violations.

Customs brokers and express carriers will take “a more active role in monitoring, detecting and preventing trafficking in counterfeit and pirated goods,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.

More than 80 trade associations urged the House of Representatives to pass legislation that would close a gap of over 700 Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists in the nation’s ports.

The Agriculture Transportation Coalition has developed service contract guidance its members can use to set parameters for when ocean carriers should issue or withhold detention and demurrage charges.

Commissioner Carl Bentzel said the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission will have an increasing role in the development of shoreside activities that impact international container shipping.

The department said the shift of certain firearms from the U.S. Munitions List to the Commerce Control List does not decontrol these items but changes the level of export control oversight.

The U.S. Energy Department will continue to allow the licensed export of highly enriched uranium for overseas medical isotope production for another two years.

A dispute over France’s digital services tax has the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative considering up to 100% tariffs on French champagne and sparkling wine imports.

Five Pakistani men are charged with duping 29 U.S. companies into illicitly exporting equipment and components to the blacklisted Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and Advanced Engineering Research Organization.

Overwhelming approval of U.S.-Canada-Mexico Agreement Implementation Act paves new trade pact’s way to President Trump’s desk for signature.

“We are seeing drawback for commodities/products where we did not see it before,” said Michael Cerny, chief legal officer for duty drawback specialist Charter Brokerage.

The rules will clarify licensing and financial responsibilities of ocean transportation intermediaries and streamline the hearing procedures related to denial, suspension and revocations of licenses.

Oceangoing vessels challenge scale of newly introduced carbon-free power technologies for short-sea shipping and ferries, World Shipping Council CEO John Butler tells U.S. lawmakers.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission is required by the 2015 Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Improvements Act to annually adjust its civil penalty amounts in line with inflation.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the Iranian metals industry generates billions of dollars for the regime, contributing to its nuclear weapons program.

A bipartisan group of U.S. House and Senate lawmakers see export controls as a means to punish those Chinese officials and companies involved in human rights abuses in western China and Hong Kong.

Companies from Amazon to Zulily agree to help Customs and Border Protection figure out how to identify and target high-risk shipments.

Experts say reversal of penalty related to U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control won’t hinder its broader enforcement activities.

“As long as I’m president of the United States, Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” President Trump said in a televised address to the nation.

Senate Finance Committee overwhelmingly approves replacement trade agreement to NAFTA and paves way for full chamber consideration.

Importing and selling counterfeit Native American-style jewelry violates the Indian Arts and Crafts Act.

Limited prohibitions of certain American-made technology exports and financial transactions are currently in place for the Middle East country rebuilding from 20 years of war.

The Commerce Department increases maximum penalty amounts for violations in accordance with the 2015 Federal Civil Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act.

U.S. enforcement agencies are turning up the heat on Chinese nationals who illicitly obtain and attempt to smuggle American-made technologies back to China.

President Trump said he plans to travel to Beijing sometime this year to start the next round of trade negotiations with China.

Founded by brothers Michael and Andrew Leto, Emerge uses its FreightTech 25 award-winning technology to break down traditional barriers to how shippers find reliable truck capacity at competitive rates.

International trade and customs attorney Zhaokang Jiang explains how China is aiming to improve cross-border trade efficiency, create fair competition and ensure compliance and sustainable growth.

Customs and Border Protection moved the nationwide tests to early April and October “due to limited availability of testing sites and to ensure the integrity of exam conditions.”

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security will expand export licensing requirements for technologies intended for military applications.

The Chinese government said the tariff reductions will help expand imports of key consumer products.

The U.S. Federal Maritime Commission will proceed with proposed rule to eliminate the requirement for vessel-operating common carriers to publish essential terms of service contracts.

The Senate is not expected to vote on the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement until early 2020.

Aivars Lembergs resigned as chairman of Vetspils Freeport Authority on Dec. 10, the day after the U.S. sanctioned the port authority for its connection to the Latvian oligarch.

Food and Drug Administration cites need for lower prices and reduced out-of-pocket costs to U.S. patients.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control has added the son of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List.

When companies self-disclose wrongdoing to the Justice Department, “the benefits of their cooperation will be concrete and significant,” said Assistant Attorney General John Demers.

David Howard, who developed a preeminent publication that explored successful international logistics connections between U.S. manufacturers and ocean container carriers, has passed away.

The White House on Dec. 12 announced the private sector technology winners of its Opioid Detection Challenge.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control warns U.S. companies to exercise due diligence against entanglements with sanctioned transportation services providers.