CTPAT TRADE COMPLIANCE HANDBOOK UPDATED WITH FORCED LABOR REQUIREMENTS U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) released updates to its Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) Trade Compliance Handbook on November 1. The new version revises language on disclosure benefit and contains new sections of program requirements including those related to [...]
PORT HOUSTON IMPOSES SUSTAINED IMPORT DWELL FEES Effective December 1, 2022, Port Houston will begin charging sustained import dwell fees on containers to ease port congestion. Loaded import containers on the terminal beginning December 1, 2022, and thereafter are subject to the sustained import dwell fee. Beneficial Cargo Owners (BCO) [...]
INDEFINITE DELAY ON MANDATORY NEW POSTAL CODE REQUIREMENT FOR IMPORT ENTRIES WITH CHINA ORIGIN Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials announced an indefinite delay of their plans to include a new data element for Chinese postal codes on cargo release filings during an October 27 industry call. CBP provided clarification [...]
CORRECTION: Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials provided clarification during an October 27 industry call stating that the upcoming postal code requirement for Chinese manufacturer IDs would not be required for existing manufacturer IDs, only when a manufacturer ID is created or updated. The postal code will also be required [...]
US MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $39 MILLION TO STRENGTHEN SUPPLY CHAIN The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $39 million in grants to fund 12 marine highway projects throughout the Nation under America's Marine Highway Program (AMHP). This grant money was earmarked to boost services on the nation's [...]
COMMISSION CONTRACTS WITH THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCE The Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) is the federal agency responsible for implementing and enforcing the Ocean Shipping Reform Act (OSRA). The FMC announced on Monday that it contracted with the National Academies of Science (NAS) - in compliance with Section 19 of the [...]
TENTATIVE RAIL LABOR AGREEMENTS REACHED PREVENTING STRIKE ACTION All twelve U.S. rail labor unions and the six Class 1 railroads have reached tentative labor agreements in the early morning hours of September 15, 2022. Union members must vote to ratify the agreements for them to take effect however, the [...]
U.S. RAIL EMBARGOES ARE IN EFFECT TODAY Several Class 1 railroads updated their freight embargoes to exceed those recommended by the American Association of Railroads (AAR). Instructions by the AAR to all Class 1 railroads included securing HAZMAT and security-sensitive commodities in preparation for the possibility of a nationwide [...]
U.S. RAIL SERVICE EMBARGOES AND LABOR NEGOTIATIONS UPDATE The two largest rail unions representing roughly 90,000 U.S. rail workers (SMART-TD, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen) and representatives for the Class 1 Railroads remain deadlocked over contract renewals while President Biden's July executive order that prescribed a "cooling off" period [...]
MANUFACTURING SLOWS IN CHINA An energy-draining heatwave, COVID-19 resurgence, and tropical storms have slowed Chinese manufacturing in recent weeks. FACTORS IMPACTING CHINESE MANUFACTURING COVID-19 Tropical Storms Heatwave COVID-19 LOCKDOWN China's no-tolerance COVID-19 policy forced lockdowns in Chengdu, part of Sichuan Province, shuttering some manufacturing operations. China recently announced an [...]
