The American Association of Port Authorities, which represents 80 U.S. ports, told the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that adding a 100% tariff to ship-to-shore cranes made by Chinese companies or with Chinese components will increase costs for its members without creating domestic manufacturing.
Although the reciprocal tariff for imported Chinese goods may have fallen to 10% for 90 days (see 2505130074), Flexport trade experts advised companies to not treat this action as if there will be an extension. Doing so will prevent companies from having to ask later whether they will have any in-transit exemptions as the 90-day period ends around Aug. 12, according to Angela Lewis, global head of customs for Flexport.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2518 on May 13 and HSU 2519 on May 14. HSU 2518 contains 79 Automated Broker Interface records and 23 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2519 contains 1 ABI record and 1 HTS record.
Given the fast-evolving trade dynamics in the U.S., some suppliers from China have been advising importers to take advantage of delivered duty paid terms -- which is bad advice and can get companies in trouble with CBP, customs consultant Tom Gould said during a May 13 webinar hosted by Revenue Vessel.
A bill being considered in the House Ways and Means Committee that would extend Trump tax cuts that would otherwise expire at the end of the year is looking to international trade to pay for part of the cost of income tax reductions. The bill also adds new tax breaks, such as on overtime pay and tips.
The chaotic situation that importers and customs brokers have been facing as tariff policy swings wildly from one extreme to the next is partially due to the fact that CBP is unable to influence policy in the Trump administration, Pete Mento, director of customs and international trade at DSV, said on May 8. Decisions about tariffs are made without expert insight into how their actual implementation will affect the broader trade community, he said.
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Seko Logistics announced Vanessa Rambo will join the company as chief compliance officer, the company said in a news release May 5. Rambo, a licensed customs broker, was previously with Lamb Weston, Nestle, Meggitt and Bostik. The company also said Brendan Belz is joining as chief transformation officer, and Alain Chimene is joining as regional president for the Asia-Pacific.
As CBP has made it clear that it will ramp up efforts to ensure companies and importers are complying with import regulations and all the assorted tariff modifications, the roles of customs brokers and import compliance experts have been elevated within company structures, several trade experts said this week in webinars.
CBP created Harmonized System Update 2517 on April 29, containing 254 Automated Broker Interface records and 58 Harmonized Tariff Schedule records. HSU 2517 includes the Section 232 auto parts updates: HTS 9903.94.05 and 9903.94.06, as well as partner government agency (PGA) updates. Additional information on the Section 232 Auto Parts Updates can be found here.