Trans American

U.S. Customs, ports and terminals have closed along the East Coast due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Florence.   Hurricane Florence is currently at Category 2, with an expected landfall in the Carolinas Thursday night or Friday morning. Per the National Hurricane Center, “life threatening storm surge and rainfall expected”. Link: https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/   U.S…. Read more : PORT ALERT

If hurricane Florence is of a high magnitude when it makes land, it could cause a severe disruption to freight operations for an extended period of time. Trucking capacity is already thin, and diversion of available trucking capacity to any reconstruction and relief efforts could further impact the already high transportation costs currently being seen…. Read more : PORT ALERT

Hurricane Florence has strengthened to a Category 4 storm as it approaches the U.S. East Coast. Hurricanes Helene and Isaac are following behind. The National Hurricane Center advised that Florence is expected to hit the coast of North and South Carolina as a Category 3 or 4 on Thursday or Friday.   The Port of… Read more : PORT ALERT

On September 6, 2018, Trans American arranged a conference call with the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) Program Managers at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) regarding implementation of the CBMA. The following is a summary of the latest updates as advised by CBP.   Foreign Producer Allocations   On August 16, 2018 there was… Read more : PORT ALERT

Further to our June 20 Customs & Logistics News, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued today a list of approximately 16 billion worth of imports from China that will be subject to a 25 percent additional tariff (duty) effective imports starting on August 23. This second tranche of additional tariffs under Section 301 follows… Read more : PORT ALERT

Further to our July 11 Bulletin on additional Section 301 duties that were proposed with a 10% tariff, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has been directed by President Trump to consider a 25% tariff instead. In a statement from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lightizer, “The increase in the possible rate of the additional… Read more : Additional Section 301 Duties Proposed at 10 Percent May Move to 25 Percent

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) issued Notice of Proposed rulemaking – Modernized Drawback, on July 27. Comments on the proposal are due by September 13. The changes are pursuant to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA). Per CBP,   proposed regulations will liberalize merchandise substitution standard, simplify recordkeeping requirements, extend and… Read more : Proposed Drawback Regulations Would Result in Elimination of Drawback on Certain Excise Taxes

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued notice on a proposed 10 percent tariff covering over 6,000 8-digit tariff lines for Chinese origin goods ($200 billion worth of imports). The USTR is seeking comments and responses in accordance with the following schedule. July 27, 2018: Due date for filing request to appear and a summary… Read more : Proposed Additional Section 301 Duties on Chinese Origin Goods

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) has issued CSMS (Cargo Systems Messaging Service) 18-000403 as in below link as it relates to the excise tax cuts as part of the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 (CBMA).   https://csms.cbp.gov/viewmssg.asp?Recid=23602&page=&srch_argv=18-000403&srchtype=all&btype=&sortby=&sby   The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) have also updated… Read more : Alcohol Excise Tax Cuts for 2018 and 2019

Further to our June 28, 2018 Bulletin regarding 2018 and 2019 excise tax credits and reduced tax rates under the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act of 2017 (CBMA), we have been in direct communication with the senior management contacts at both U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax… Read more : Update – Alcohol Excise Tax Cuts for 2018 and 2019