EPA cracking down on illegal and falsely reported HFC’s (From Sandler Travis and Rosenberg)
…EPA “is using every enforcement tool available to hold companies accountable for the illegal importation of refrigerants that damage our climate and imperil future generations,” said David Uhlmann, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. For example, since January 2022 the EPA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have collaborated to deny entry to more than 80 shipments of illegal HFCs. The EPA is also using its enforcement authorities to target HFC importers that fail to accurately report their import quantities and plans to continue to scrutinize the data that is reported.
| Lufthansa Cargo decreases Airfreight Surcharge to 0.55 USD per kg |
| The sum of cost components in our airfreight surcharge has decreased in the past weeks. Consequently, Lufthansa Cargo is decreasing its Airfreight Surcharge, effective May 13th, 2024, from 0.60 to 0.55 USD per kg chargeable freight weight. Please note, the latest acceptance time (LAT) of the booked/confirmed flight, not the AWB issue date, determines the applicable Airfreight Surcharge. |
June 28 deadline for comments on proposed increases to some Chinese products (From Sandler, Travis, and Rosenberg)
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will accept public input from May 29 through June 28 on its previously announced proposal to increase certain tariffs on some $18 billion worth of Chinese goods, establish an exclusion process for a limited number of products, and make other changes.
These recommendations are included in USTR’s report on its review of the Section 301 tariffs, which were first imposed in 2018 in an effort to persuade China to modify its “harmful technology transfer-related acts, policies, and practices.” USTR Katherine Tai said that while the tariffs have been somewhat successful in that regard, “further action is required.”
The USTR notice seeking public input lists the specific 382 HTSUS subheadings and five HTSUS statistical reporting numbers that would be subject to the increased Section 301 tariffs. USTR is proposing that increases in 2024 be effective Aug. 1, 2024, and that increases in 2025 and 2026 be effective Jan. 1 of the corresponding year. If the proposal is finalized in its current form, the Section 301 tariff increases would be as follows:
– battery parts (non-lithium-ion batteries) – from 7.5 percent to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– electric vehicles – from 25 percent to 100 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– lithium-ion electrical vehicle batteries – from 7.5 percent to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– lithium-ion non-electrical vehicle batteries – from 7.5 percent to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2026
– medical gloves – from 7.5 percent to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2026
– natural graphite – from 0 to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2026
– other critical minerals – from 0 to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– permanent magnets – from 0 to 25 percent on Jan. 1, 2026
– face masks / respirators – from 0-7.5 percent to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– semiconductors – from 25 percent to 50 percent on Jan. 1, 2025
– ship-to-shore cranes – from 0 to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– solar cells (whether or not assembled into modules) – from 25 percent to 50 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– steel and aluminum products – from 0-7.5 percent to 25 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
– syringes and needles – from 0 to 50 percent on Aug. 1, 2024
For further info on this, please go to:
Interesting facts on container ships (From PPI via NCBFAA)
FACT: A new container ship launches every day.
Largest container ship by year, in TEU* capacity –
| 2024: | 24,327 TEU (MSC Irina) |
| 2020: | 23,992 TEU (Ever Ace) |
| 2014: | 19,100 TEU (CLC Globe) |
| 2010: | 14,770 TEU (Emma Maersk) |
| 2004: | 8,500 TEU (CLC Asia) |
| 2000: | 8,160 TEU (Sovereign Maersk) |
| 1990: | 4,614 TEU (American New York) |
| 1974: | 2,984 TEU (Hamburg Express) |
| 1956: | 56 TEU (Ideal-X) |
* “Twenty-foot Equivalent Units.” A TEU represents one 20 x 8 x 8.5 foot shipping container; a 40-foot container is two TEUs.
Ed. Note: The legendary Malcolm McLean launched the first container ship, 56 TEU (Ideal-X), in 1956 with his new company, SeaLand. He was bought out in the 1970’s by R.J. Reynolds. In 1978, the day his non-compete ran out, McLean purchased United States Lines. There, he built a fleet of 4,400-TEU container ships that were the largest afloat at the time (See American New York, above). The rest is, as they say, history!