Actions to slap an effective date of March 12 for Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum derivatives outside of Chapters 73 and 76 -- and to give the trade community less than three hours to get their systems in place so that they can comply with this new effective date -- sent brokers and importers into a tailspin.
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The implementation of -- and seemingly abrupt reprieve from -- 10% to 25% duties on goods imported from Canada and Mexico is causing whiplash among customs brokers.
CBP plans to double down on implementing President Donald Trump's America First trade policy, according to federal officials speaking during the quarterly meeting of the Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, held in Atlanta on March 5.
China and Canada announced new retaliatory trade restrictions against the U.S. -- and Mexico announced plans to soon release its own set of countermeasures -- after President Donald Trump's administration on March 4 increased tariffs on goods from all three countries. Industry associations said the counter-duties could damage a range of American export industries, including shippers of agricultural products, spirits and other commercial goods.
From corporate giants to small companies, in farming, manufacturing and retail, Americans said tariffs on Canada and Mexico were damaging their businesses and driving up costs for customers.
CBP posted the following documents for the March 5 Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee (COAC) meeting:
Imported goods subject to heading 9903 tariff subheadings, including goods from China, may qualify for informal entry only if the goods are valued at $250 or less, CBP indicated in answers to questions posed by the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America at a recent meeting.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America supports the National Marine Fisheries Service's efforts to automate entry processing for seafood imports, although the trade association also said NMFS needs to address some outstanding issues stemming from that agency's efforts to create a streamlined process that can parse out restricted shipments from non-restricted shipments, according to a Feb. 18 comment submitted to NMFS.
President Donald Trump's plan to remove the de minimis exemption from goods made in China and Hong Kong may just be the start of a bigger push to remove that exemption from other countries, according to trade experts speaking during a Feb. 13 webinar sponsored by ShipHero, a warehouse management system provider for e-commerce and third-party logistics firms.