Americans for Free Trade, a coalition of more than 150 trade associations, sent a letter to the White House Feb. 27 offering praise for the pause in escalations of tariffs on Chinese goods and asking that an agreement be reached that takes all tariffs away. "It is our hope that this momentum will build in the weeks ahead and lead to a final deal that addresses structural issues in China, removes tariffs on both sides, and eliminates trade uncertainty facing American businesses and farmers," they wrote. "Our coalition represents every part of the U.S. economy, including manufacturers, farmers and agribusinesses, retailers, technology companies, service suppliers, natural gas and oil companies, importers, exporters, and other supply chain stakeholders. Collectively, we support tens of millions of American jobs through our vast supply chains." Customs brokers and apparel, travel goods, furniture and jewelry importers were among those who signed the letter.
Platinum Equity agreed to acquire Livingston International for an undisclosed amount, the companies said in a Feb. 21 news release. Livingston, which is based in Toronto, Canada, "holds the distinction of being Canada’s largest customs broker and third-largest entry filer in the United States," the companies said. “With Platinum’s support, we will continue to execute on our customer-centric growth strategy, which focuses on offering best-in-class customs brokerage, trade compliance and logistics services to more than 30,000 businesses in the U.S., Canada and around the world,” Livingston CEO Dan McHugh said.
The following customs broker's license and all associated permits are revoked for failure to "employ at least one qualifying individual," CBP said in a notice.
CBP plans to revoke hundreds of customs broker's licenses by operation of law, without prejudice, for failure to file the 2018 triennial status report and applicable fee, it said in a notice. CBP’s list includes the broker name (individual or company), license number, and port name associated with the licenses being revoked.
Maersk has agreed to acquire the New Jersey-based customs brokerage Vandegrift, it said in a press release. The deal, which closed on Feb. 8, nets Maersk a nearly 70-year-old operation with 170 employees based in 12 offices. “Adding Vandegrift’s depth to our value proposition creates a game changer for our North America customers,” said Jeff Hammond, Maersk’s global head-customs brokerage. “Now we can offer significantly more Customs Broker expertise, capacity and wider scope of solutions to help our customers succeed,” he said. Maersk’s release says the price and terms of the deal were not disclosed.
International Trade Today is providing readers with some of the top stories for Feb. 4-8 in case they were missed.
Farrow and Shipware are partnering to provide customers one combined service for customs consulting and shipping solutions, the two companies announced in a Feb. 8 press release. Farrow, a customs broker, and Shipware, which helps businesses lower their shipping costs, said they “complement one another’s service” offerings and will provide clients with trade compliance and shipping experts in one place.
The recently announced $6 million penalty Fiat Chrysler (FCA) will pay to CBP to settle allegations it illegally imported non-compliant vehicles is based on claims that FCA, at the time of importation, “falsely represented that imported vehicles conformed with valid Certificates of Conformity and complied with all applicable environmental laws and regulations,” a CBP spokesman said. The settlement only involves FCA and CBP, and does not involve any other parties such as customs brokers, the spokesman said. The settlement is monetary in nature, with no new compliance program requirements. The agreement did not need court approval because CBP and FCA reached the settlement on their own, based only on CBP’s claims, and CBP was “not a party to the multi-district litigation overseeing [Environmental Protection Agency] and other claims against Fiat Chrysler,” he said. The Justice Department announced the penalty in January, as part of a total $500 million settlement related to allegations that FCA used devices to cheat emissions tests (see 1901100024).
Customs brokers should remain a key part of the global supply chain as CBP shifts to better operate in the modern trade environment, providing a “multiplier effect” to the agency’s education and data integrity efforts, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in comments to CBP dated Feb. 4. As e-commerce causes the number of importers to explode and the associated risks to increase accordingly, brokers should be considered “trusted partners, delivering the agency from the chaos of dealing with hundreds of thousands of importers,” the NCBFAA said.
The International Trade Commission posted the 2019 Basic Edition of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule. The new HTS implements the removal of Mauritania from eligibility for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits, makes widespread changes to units of measure throughout the tariff schedule, and adds new statistical suffixes for infant footwear, aluminum foil and paper, among other products. Most changes took effect Jan. 1.