The U.S. Department of the Treasury enacted directives on Friday, April 12, 2024 that prohibit the import of Russian-origin aluminum, copper, and nickel into the U.S. These actions also limit the use of these Russian-origin metals on global metal exchanges and over-the-counter derivatives trading. This move supports the G7 Leaders' [...]
The Port of Baltimore is currently working towards handling containers within the next four weeks after shutting down because of the Key Bridge collapse. Starting in a limited capacity to containers as well as other freight (such as ro/ro) the port is targeting a full reopening by the end of [...]
BRIDGE COLLAPSE Maryland Governor Wes Moore declared a state of emergency for the city of Baltimore after a container ship collided with a support column of the Francis Scott Key Bridge, causing a total collapse early in the morning of March 26, 2024. The Francis Scott Key Bridge stretched 1.6 [...]
In late February, members of the OCEAN Alliance (OA), CMA CGM, Cosco Shipping, Evergreen and OOCL, announced the extension of their partnership agreement for five more years. Solidifying this alliance provides some stability in the shipping sector, that has seen other alliances restructured or dissolved recently. The new agreement begins [...]
Implementation of the Strengthening Organics Enforcement (SOE) Rule goes into effect today, March 19, 2024. The new rule updates the USDA’s organic regulations, oversight, and enforcement for organic products including production, handling, and sales. The new rule also implements 2018 Farm Bill requirements, addresses industry requests for regulation updates and National [...]
The recently published Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) budget for Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) demonstrates the Commission's focus on staffing, restructuring, case prioritization, OSRA implementation, and a new electronic case management system. These updates are part of the $48.4 million congressional funding request FMC submitted for FY25 - an increase of [...]
California state and regional regulatory agencies are facing backlash from the freight transportation sector due to new emissions rules. Similar in goal to SB-253 and SB-261, these rules are being introduced to reduce emissions from freight transportation activities. The agencies are being urged to delay the rules due to high [...]
EUROPEAN UNION ANNOUNCES NEW FORCED LABOR RULE The European Union (EU) announced March 5th that a deal had been reached on a new rule set regarding forced labor. Specifically, this new rule will ban imports suspected of being made with forced labor, outlining how the EU will investigate and penalize [...]
The USDA National Organic Program (NOP) recently released the Strengthening Organic Enforcement (SOE) final rule. The SOE updates the USDA's organic regulations while strengthening oversight and enforcement for organic products including production, handling, and sale. It also implements 2018 Farm Bill requirements, incorporates industry requests for organic regulation updates, [...]
A recent ruling by the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) may have implications for container transport within the U.S. As a result of this ruling, ocean carriers were ordered to cease requiring cargo owners and their truckers use specific chassis for shipper-controlled transportation. The ruling responds to Ocean Carriers [...]
