USTR Announces Process for Section 301 Exclusion Request for Third Round of Tariffs on China

On June 24, 2019, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced the process for seeking exclusions from additional 25% tariffs imposed under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 on the third list of products from China (List 3) targeted by the Trump Administration. The goods included on List 3 have an import value of approximately $200 billion. The 25% tariffs apply to List 3 goods exported from China on or after May 10, 2019.

USTR will open a web portal for the submission of List 3 exclusion requests on June 30, 2019, at 12 p.m. EST at http://exclusions.USTR.gov. This differs from the exclusion process for Lists 1 and 2, which were conducted through the regulations.gov website. As with Lists 1 and 2, List 3 exclusion requests must be submitted using the form provided by USTR. The form, detailing the required information, is attached to the June 24, 2019 Federal Register notice.

Please visit the USTR announcement for further details.

Note: The deadline for submitting List 3 exclusion requests is Sept. 30, 2019. Those wishing to respond to an individual request will have 14 days after the request is posted to the USTR online portal.

If you have any questions pertaining to this announcement, please contact your South East World Wide, Ltd. Sales Representative.

MSC loses ‘low-risk’ carrier status after US drugs raid

As reported by Lloyd’s List, June 29, 2019 by Cichen Shen, ‘MEDITERRANEAN Shipping Co has had a key US customs designation suspended after drugs valued at $1bn were seized on one of its vessels at the Port of Philadelphia.

The US Attorney’s Office has described the 16.5 tonnes of cocaine found in seven containers on the 3,398 teu MSC Gayane asthe largest drug seizure in the history of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

US customs authorities have now suspended MSC’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism certificate, which is granted to shipping lines deemed low risk. “CTPAT members are considered to be low risk and less likely to have cargo examined at a US port of entry,” said the Danish line, which is itself a CTPAT member.’

MSC has acknowledged the situation in a posting on their website on June 18, 2019. They have declared they are taking the matter ‘very seriously’ and are cooperating with authorities. Although it has not been confirmed by CBP, MSC advised customers to expect only minor disruptions in service such as possible additional inspections on traffic lanes from Central and South America to the United States.

If you have any questions how this may effect your cargo on this carrier, please contact your SEWW Sales Representative.

Notice Regarding Application of Section 301 Action

The Office of the United States Trade Representative intends to publish a notice in the Federal Register next week that extends the amount of time certain goods exported from China have to enter the United States before they will be subject to an additional tariff increase from 10 percent to 25 percent.

 

Covered products that were exported from China to the United States prior to May 10, 2019 will remain subject to an additional 10 percent tariff if they enter into the U.S. before June 15, 2019. Originally, the deadline to enter the U.S. before the goods would be subject to an additional 25 percent tariff was June 1, 2019.

 

This limited extension will further account for customs enforcement factors and the transit time between China and the United States by sea.

 

You may contact your South East World Wide, Ltd. Sales Representative for more information.

 

Additionally, you may wish to bookmark this link for future updates from the USTR.

U.S. CBP releases information on the effective date of Section 301 Tariffs on goods of Chinese Origin

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued guidance on the effective date of duty increase for Section 301 tariffs on goods of Chinese Origin.

The increase in duty from 10% to 25% will go into effect on May 10, 2019 for goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption and exported to the U.S. after 12:01 a.m. eastern standard time on May 10, 2019. According to CBP, any goods exported prior to May 10 and entered for consumption on or after May 10, will still be subject to the 10% rate of duty.

Currently CBP’s system is programmed to calculate duty at 25% on goods arriving on or after May 10, 2019. CBP is suggesting two options for importers with shipments that may be eligible for the 10% duty rate:

  1. Importers may pay the 25% duty rate and file a Post Summary Correction when filing instructions become available for 10% duty rate;

  2. Importers may delay filing the entry summary during the standard ten-day entry summary filing period until the additional instructions become available.

Further information can be found at the USTR’s website by clicking here.

Further information can be found at the Federal Register Notice by clicking here

Trump threatens increased tariff on Chinese goods (Sect 301), as soon as May 10, 2019

Although no official statement has been released, various media outlets and The President has tweeted the threat of the Section 301 tariffs to be implemented, and can be as soon as May 10, 2019. Goods on this list, currently at 10% duty, will increase to 25% if the news becomes official.

THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL NOTICE OF IMPLEMENTATION.

Please speak with your Sales Representative to obtain further information regarding the tariffs and their possible implementation.

NOTE: All entries subject to List 3 assessment after the increase will require prepayment of duty. Importers enrolled in the ACH direct program with CBP will not face this additional challenge.

The complete Federal Register notice can be found here.

Third round of 301 tariff exclusions announced

As reported by Chris Gillis | Apr 17, 2019 of American Shipper, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will allow Section 301 tariff exclusions for 21 additional product types covering 348 exclusion requests.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has released its third round of imported products from China that are now exempt from the so-called Section 301 tariffs.
   On July 6, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on $34 billion of Chinese imports as part of its Section 301 investigation of China’s trade policies. At the same time, however, it allowed U.S. companies to seek exclusions for their Chinese imports — if they could show that the products are only available from China, the tariffs cause “severe economic harm” and the products are not strategic to the “Made in China 2025” or other Chinese industrial programs.

Full story can be found here.

GSP Designation for India and Turkey is Coming to an End

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer announced today that the United States intends to terminate India’s and Turkey’s designations as beneficiary developing countries under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program because they no longer comply with the statutory eligibility criteria. 

The termination of India from GSP stems from its failure to provide the United States with assurances that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets in numerous sectors.  Turkey’s termination from GSP follows a finding that it is sufficiently economically developed and should no longer benefit from preferential market access to the United States market.

By statute, these changes may not take effect until at least 60 days after the notifications to Congress and the governments of India and Turkey, and will be enacted by a Presidential Proclamation.

The full press release may be found here.

CBP Extend 10% Duty Rate for Third Round of Section 301

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) made changes to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) to extend the 10% duty rate on HTS 9903.88.03, as noted in Cargo System Messaging Service #19-000088. The duty rate was set to increase on March 2, 2019 to 25% for goods that were subject to the third round of Section 301 tariffs.

Further updates are possible after the forthcoming Federal Register notice is published.

The update can be found here.

US East Coast and West Coast Port Congestion Continues

LA and NY Trucking/Port Congestion Continues

There continues to be extreme congestion at Los Angeles/Long Beach and New York ports. This is primarily due to the influx of imports in advance of the tariff increases, peak season shipping, and Chinese New Year anticipation. The increased volume is also impacting inland moves. The local truckers are experiencing chassis shortage and long pickup times. We ask that our customers to expect and prepare for some shipment delays in the upcoming weeks. Note: Unlike LA/LB, the NY terminals only run regular weekday hours, no weekends. Please expect anything moving through NY to take longer to move.

We Thank You for your support and understanding during this difficult period.

If you have any specific inquiries regarding your shipments, please contact your South East World Wide, Ltd. Sales Representative.

US West Coast Port Congestion Continues

Los Angeles and Long Beach Port Congestion

Shippers continue to face long delays retrieving containers locally and for IPI service from both Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports. The ports have reported unprecedented high volumes of containers coming into port with no relief in sight. Containers are sitting longer than normal and any containers that are out-gating are taking longer to return, causing chassis shortage as well. Contributing factors to the congestion include the following:

  • Strong market conditions and increases in volume prior to the implementation of tariff increases.” (Though a threatened increase in tariffs on $200 million of Chinese goods from 10 percent to 25 percent has been delayed until March, many goods were shipped early to beat the tariff clock.)

  • Carriers have added 12 extra loader vessels and three up-sized vessels calling the Los Angeles/Long Beach complex over the balance of 2018. The extra loader vessels are expected to transport an additional 128,000 TEUs of freight over the coming weeks. Many of these vessels are calling terminals outside of the normal alliance pattern, which could result in disruptions in chassis availability because of the mis-positioning of containers and chassis. 

  • Lingering effects of the typhoons in the Eastern Pacific. 

  • Warehouses across the region have all but reached capacity.

  • Driver shortage and ELD enforcement

  • Congestion has been exacerbated by curtailed hours over the Christmas and New Year holidays

  • General increase of containers, 5%, over last year but in much smaller time frame

Despite the ports efforts to assist with technology improvements, congestion is expected to continue through February 2019.

President Announces US will not Raise Tariffs on $200 Billion in Chinese Goods

U.S. President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi agreed to maintain the tariffs on $200 billion worth of products from China at 10% ad valorem rate, and will not raise the tariffs to 25% on January 1, 2019 for a period of 90-days.

If, at the end of a 90-day period of negotiations, both parties are unable to reach an agreement, the 10% tariffs will be raised to 25%.

The White House press release click HERE.

Trump Administration Announces $200 Billion in Section 301 Tariffs on China

On September 17, 2018, by Presidential order of U.S. President Donald Trump, an implementation of an additional $200 Billion of Section 301 tariffs on goods imported from China will be in effect.

According to the USTR, the final list of tariffs contains 5,745 lines of the original 6,031 tariff lines first proposed on July 10, 2018.

The latest round of tariffs will take effect on September 24, 2018 at a rate of 10% until the end of the year. On January 1, 2019, the rate of the tariffs will increase to 25%.

Information on the White House Press Release can be found here.

The USTR’s Press Release can be found here.

The tariff list can be found by clicking here.

CBP Announced MPF Changes for Fiscal Year 2019, Effective October 1, 2018

The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) ad valorem rate of 0.3464% will NOT change.  The MPF minimum and maximum for formal entries (class code 499) will change.  The minimum will change from $25.67 to $26.22 and the maximum will change from $497.99 to $508.70.

Additionally, the informal MPF will increase to $2.10.

The changes are scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2018.

 

The CSMS may be found by clicking here.

 

 

CBP Provides Section 301 Trade Remedies FAQ

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) posted a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on Section 301 trade remedies.

The FAQ may be found here:

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/entry-summary/section-301-trade-remedies-be-assessed-certain-products-china-effective-july-6-2018/faqs

The USTR’s Notice of Action may be found here:

https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-06-20/pdf/2018-13248.pdf

Section 301 Trade Remedies to be Assessed on Certain Products from China effective July 6, 2018

BACKGROUND

On August 18, 2017, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) initiated an investigation under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 into the government of China’s acts, policies, and practices related to technology transfer, intellectual property, and innovation.  On March 22, 2018, the USTR issued a notice of determination and request for comments that stated that the government of China’s acts, policies, and practices covered by the investigation were found to be actionable under Section 301(b) of the Trade Act.  The notice proposed the imposition of additional import duties on a preliminary list of 1,300 Chinese products, and indicated that a final list would be forthcoming after the period for public comment expired.  See Federal Register, 83 FR 14906.  On June 15, 2018, the USTR issued a notice of action providing for the imposition of additional import duties on a final list of Chinese products.

Additional information can be found here:  https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/entry-summary/section-301-trade-remedies-be-assessed-certain-products-china-effective-july-6-2018

 

 

China is Amending the Advance Cargo Manifest Information Requirements

Effective June 01, 2018, the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (“GACC”) will amend its advance cargo information requirements for imports and exports according to GACC Announcement No. 56.

It will require additional data elements to be provided that are related to Inbound and Outbound Transportation by Air and Sea. 

Some of the additional data that will be required are as follows:

  • Shipper Contact Number
  • Shipper Specific Contact Name
  • Shipper Enterprise Registration Code or Unified Social Credit Code
  • Consignee Contact Number
  • Consignee Specific Contact Name
  • Consignee Enterprise Registration Code or Unified Social Credit Code
  • Notify Party Contact Number (if consignee is different)
  • Notify Party Specific Contact Name (if consignee is different)
  • Notifiy Party Registration Code or Unified Social Credit Code (if consignee is different)
  • Complete and accurate brief description of goods

Manifest data must be transmitted to the GACC prior to arrival or departure within the timeframes prescribed per mode of transportation.

The notice may be found here in Chinese:

 

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/302266/302267/747313/index.html

An English translation may be found here:

http://www.e-to-china.com/tariff_changes/Policy_Focus/2017/1124/113580.html

 

GSP Renewed

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) provides duty-free treatment to goods of designated beneficiary countries. The program was authorized by the Trade Act of 1974 to promote economic growth in the developing countries and was implemented on January 1, 1976.

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GSP Renewed

On Friday, March 23, 2018, the President signed into law H.R. 1625 (Public Law 115-141), the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018,” which in addition to providing full-year federal appropriations through September 30, 2018, extended GSP with retroactivity, for goods entered or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption from January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2020. The new law, effective April 22, 2018, also provided for the retroactive refund of all duties (without interest) to the importer of record (IOR) on GSP-eligible goods entered during the January 1, 2018 through April 21, 2018 lapse period.

For detailed information on the full release, click here.

For any entries handled through South East World Wide, Ltd., take note that all of the merchandise that is eligible for GSP duty free entry, has been identified by the lines marked with "A" on the CBP7501 Entry Summary. Because the GSP program expired on 12/31/17, the full duty amount must be paid at this time. SEWW is monitoring all affected entries, and will ensure refunds are issued.