Tariff Increase on $250 Billion in Imports from China Expected Oct. 15 (Reminder from Sandler Travis)
U.S. government sources have confirmed that a proposed increase in the additional tariff being imposed on $250 billion worth of imports from China from 25 percent to 30 percent is still planned for Oct. 15.
U.S. wins $7.5 billion award in Airbus subsidies case, will start applying tariffs on EU goods beginning Oct 18 (From USTR)
The United States has won the largest arbitration award in World Trade Organization (WTO) history in its dispute with the European Union over illegal subsidies to Airbus…“For years, Europe has been providing massive subsidies to Airbus that have seriously injured the U.S. aerospace industry and our workers. Finally, after 15 years of litigation, the WTO has confirmed that the United States is entitled to impose countermeasures in response to the EU’s illegal subsidies,” U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said. “Accordingly, the United States will begin applying WTO-approved tariffs on certain EU goods beginning October 18…” For more info, please go to
For a list of proposed EU goods to be affected please go to
More trans-Pacific carriers to levy interim IMO surcharges in November (From Journal of Commerce)
More trans-Pacific trades…will announce [in October] the low-sulfur fuel oil surcharges they intend to charge shippers in November and December as they phase compliant vessels into their fleets in order to meet the International Maritime Organization’s LSFO requirements taking effect Jan. 1, 2020. The final two months of the year will likely be confusing for beneficial cargo owners (BCOs) because each carrier will have its own temporary surcharges for spot and contract shipments based on how much LSFO their vessels consume during the interim period. Carriers can either burn higher-cost LSFO or marine gasoil or install scrubbers to continue using lower-cost high-sulfur fuel oil (HSFO). For more info, please go to
https://www.joc.com/maritime-news/container-lines/more-trans-pacific-carriers-levy-interim-imo-surcharges-november_20190913.html?utm_source=Eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=CL_JOC%20Daily%209%2F16%2F19%20_PC9156_e-production_E-44276_TF_0916_0617
Maersk: Shippers will only pay for LSFO ‘cost recovery’ (From American Shipper)
Maersk will adjust its bunker adjustment factors (BAF) based on the price of low-sulfur fuels from Jan. 1 for long-term contracts of more than three months. For spot business and shorter contracts of less than three months, it is introducing on Dec. 1 an environmental fuel fee (EFF), a mechanism designed to recover the extra costs of the more expensive IMO 2020-compliant fuel.
“Our efforts for long-term BAFs and short-term EFFs focus on recovering the extra cost of compliance and are based on principles of simplicity and predictability for our customers to be able to plan their supply chains,” said Silvia Ding, global head of ocean products for A.P. Møller – Maersk. For more info, please go to
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maersk-shippers-will-only-pay-for-cost-recovery-of-imo-2020-fuels
Further container rate weakness forecast for Q4 (From American Shipper)
Spot container shipping rates will continue to subside in the coming weeks following a tepid peak shipping season, according to analysis by Alphaliner.
“With Chinese factories due to close for the Oct. 1 Golden Week holidays, marking the traditional start of the container shipping slack season, carriers have slashed rates ahead of the holidays to build their cargo booking pipeline,” said Alphaliner’s latest weekly report. “Further rate weakness is expected for the rest of the year, with carriers’ capacity management efforts ineffective so far in stemming the rate decline.” As reported in FreightWaves, World Container Index spot freight rates on the Shanghai-to-Genoa lane plummeted 13% last week, dragging the global composite index down 6% as a result, according to London-based shipping consultancy Drewry. For more info, please go to
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/further-container-rate-weakness-forecast-for-q4?utm_campaign=American%20Shipper%20Daily%20Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=77348666&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9gHRP_iWNKcuJEFbdOr9OvS1ok-PygkoMxTGaBF1Jl9wttF568rtsrogvgkrSx6fOJw__DT1OsNiZ4QoEHQd4I9OR5cw&_hsmi=77348666
CBP cracks down on forced labor in supply chains (From American Shipper)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is making good on its mandate to detect and halt imported products that include the use of child or forced labor during their manufacture. The agency announced October 1 the issuance of five “withhold release orders” covering five imported products from five countries as follows:
– Hetian Taida Apparel Co., Ltd. in Xinjiang, China, for garments produced with prison or forced labor.
-WRP Asia Pacific Sdn. Bhd. In Malaysia for producing disposable rubber gloves produced with forced labor.
-Gold from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) mined in small mines with forced labor.
-Rough diamonds from the Marange Diamond Fields in Zimbabwe mined with forced labor.
-Bonechar Carvão Ativado Do Brasil Ltda in Brazil for manufacturing bone black with forced labor.
US tariffs on China prompt manufacturing migration (From American Shipper)
As U.S.-China trade tensions escalated earlier this year, President Trump demanded U.S. companies “immediately start looking for an alternative to China, including bringing your companies HOME and making your products in the USA.” There is growing evidence that only half of his order is being heeded. To avoid U.S. tariffs of up to 25% [soon to be 30%] on most imports from China, many producers are indeed moving production out of China. Yet rather than shifting manufacturing to the U.S., most are instead opting for low-cost options elsewhere in Asia to maintain profit levels. For more info, please go to
https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-tariffs-on-china-prompt-manufacturing-migration?utm_campaign=American%20Shipper%20Daily%20Newsletter&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=77684019&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_WzTUS2Or5JTtoJrELInAqwq5toy_y5zhYCGaVlukooCh9QFhMuFS_qiF6Oq-DCWBlQpY-32dCxER68Fa11MATOi7gJg&_hsmi=77684019
Ed Note: Many of our customers have already shifted production to other Southeast Asian countries to include Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore. Some have moved production to Central and South America. We suggest you also consider Eastern Europe. We urge you to carefully review the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act if you are considering Cambodia.
Higher inbound US postal package rates (From AirCargo News)
President Trump has won his battle for the US Postal Service (USPS) to be paid higher rates for inbound international packages entering the US domestic postal system, in a move aimed primarily at e-commerce consignments from China. A special meeting of the UPU in Geneva saw member countries vote unanimously for the agreement on remuneration rates which allows the USPS and other postal authorities to ‘self-declare’ by publishing their own tariffs for inbound packages. Under the agreed solution, member countries that meet certain requirements – including inbound letter-post volumes in excess of 75,000 metric tons based on 2018 data – would be able to opt-in to self-declare their rates, starting July 2020. For more info, please go to
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Lee Hardeman LeeH@LHCB.com Direct: 404-477-3452
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