Steel and aluminum tariffs go into effect March 23 (From Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP, by Susan K. Ross)
On Thursday, March 8, 2018, President Trump signed two Presidential Proclamations, one dealing with additional tariffs on steel and the other with additional tariffs on aluminum. As has been widely reported in the general press, those rates are 25% on steel and 10% on aluminum. The only countries exempted are Canada and Mexico.
Steel articles are defined as those which are classified under HTSUS 7206.10 through 7216.50 (including ingots, bars, rods and angles), 7216.99 through 7301.10 (including bars, rods, wire, ingots, and sheet piling), 7302.10 (rails), 7302.40 through 7302.90 (including plates and sleepers), and 7304.10 through 7360.90 (including tubes, pipes and hollow profiles). Aluminum products are defined as unwrought aluminum (HTS 7601); aluminum bars, rods, and profiles (HTS 7604); aluminum wire (HTS 7605); aluminum plate, sheet, strip and foil (flat rolled products) (HTS 7606 and 7606); aluminum tubes and pipes and tube and pipe fittings (HTS 7608 and 7609); and aluminum castings and forgings (HTS 7616.99.5160 and 7616.99.51.70).
The stated reason supporting these safeguards is the “failure of countries to agree on measures to reduce global excess capacity [and] the continued high level of imports since the beginning of the year.” The national security ground is the weakening of the U.S.’ “internal economy and the shrinking of its ability to meet national security production requirements in the case of a national emergency”…These safeguards take effect on any entries filed on or after 12:01 a.m. on March 23, 2018. For more info, please go to
Ed. note: There are provisions for other exemptions that are outlined in this article.
Severe truck capacity shortage
We are experiencing severe shortages of truck availability for delivery from the port/airport to your facilities. This has come about primarily from increased demand as the economy grows, but also bad weather, the mandate for electronic logging devices (ELD’s) becoming effective last month, and congestion in the ports/airports. We are working with our truckers to schedule your deliveries well in advance, and so far, we have been successful in getting timely deliveries. We cannot, however, control the rate increases we are seeing, between 10 and 25 percent. Please understand that in this current market, you should expect to pay more for truck deliveries.
Significant Changes Coming to California Proposition 65 for Consumer Products (From GDLSK law firm)
The California Proposition 65 “safe harbor” warning requirement will undergo significant changes later this year for products that are manufactured on or after August 30, 2018.
The law, commonly known as “Prop 65”, requires companies to provide a “clear and reasonable” warning to consumers for products sold in California that contain a chemical(s) on the Prop 65 list. The warning must be visible to the consumer before any exposure occurs. For more info, please go to
http://www.gdlsk.com/firm-news/482-significant-changes-coming-to-california-proposition-65-for-consumer-products.html?_cldee=bGVlaEBsaGNiLmNvbQ%3d%3d&recipientid=contact-ad096a447a03e51180d8c4346bace2fc-459d71ea274a4851acfbdfae1ce9d855&esid=be035883-4e3a-4977-9d39-fd4ad7f146d0
CMA CGM’s first 20,600-TEU ship readies for service (From American Shipper)
French ocean carrier CMA CGM placed its first 20,600-TEU ship, Antoine de Saint Exupery, on an Asia-North Europe loop, dubbed the FAL 1, effective Feb. 6. FAL 1 offers a weekly service to 16 ports of call for a duration of 84 days. The containership is the first of an order of three 20,600-TEU ships for CMA. For more info, please go to
https://www.americanshipper.com/main/asd/cma-cgms-first-20600teu-ship-readies-for-service-70430.aspx
Ed. note: This growing capacity will help keep ocean rates and/or rate increases to a minimum.
Contact us with any questions.
Lee Hardeman LeeH@LHCB.com Direct: 404-477-3452
Sandy Cato SandyC@LHCB.com Direct: 404-477-3454
Brittany Albaneso BrittanyA@LHCB.com Cell: 404-401-5950
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