As trade tensions between the world's two biggest economies continue, companies around the world are moving to reduce their dependence on Chinese factories.

The USTR just posted yesterday an announcement on their website that the feared List 4 group of products ($300 Billion) will be hit beginning Sept 1. The listing, however, has been split into 2 parts, which are being called List 4A (Click here to view), and List 4B (Click here to view). List 4A will be charged at 10%, but is planned to rise to 25% on December 15 when List 4B is effective.

There have been a lot of questions regarding Sec. 301 duties, and how they apply (or not) to our clients' import products. A comprehensive list of all tariff numbers subject to the various tariff actions known as Lists 1-4 can be viewed here. Lately, there has been a big push for companies to see if their products will be eligible for an official exclusion from these additional costs. We have tried to summarize the main points below regarding the current state of these exclusions and how to go about applying for one if you choose.  

Ever since the new 25% tariffs on China have gone into effect, many importers are receiving notices from their bonding company or from Customs directly that say the importer's current Continuous Bond amount is no longer sufficient, and it must be raised (rather quickly) to a new, higher minimum amount. Please do not ignore these notices!

Please be aware that on August 1, 2019, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF), also known as PierPass, at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by 1.9 percent. The adjustment matches the combined 1.9 percent increase in longshore wage and assessment rates that took effect June 29.

The web portal (Click here to visit) for submitting exclusion requests for the third round (tranche) of China tariffs to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative is now open through Sept. 30. Parties must register on the portal before submitting exclusion requests, which can include a range of similar goods for products defined in the request. Challenges to exclusion requests must be posted within 14 days.

As many shippers may have noticed or heard at the end of May, President Trump has announced a plan to implement new tariffs on ALL goods arriving from Mexico beginning as soon as June 10, 2019. The duty rates would start at 5% on June 10 and increase monthly by an additional 5% until they reach 25% or until Mexico does enough to satisfy the President's requests that they do more to stem the flow of illegal immigrants through their country.