Each week, the trade community watches the giant chess match between China and the United States, seeing who will make the next move, who will potentially "win" the match or if the game will end in a draw. Currently, the "game" is still in play with both sides moving pieces to win.

If you are one of the many shoppers looking for deals this holiday season, prices may be higher than expected due to new tariffs on imported goods. These tariffs are likely to impact both import shipping volumes and prices of goods throughout this holiday season. 

The Commodity Classification Standards Board (CCSB) has posted proposed amendments to the National Motor Freight Classification® (NMFC®). These amendments will be published, pending reconsideration, on December 5, 2019 and are expected to go in effect on January 4, 2020.

The USTR (United States Trade Representative) has announced that on October 31, 2019, it will begin to accept tariff exclusion requests for Chinese imports that are subject to an additional 15 percent tariff (List 4), which went into effect on September 1, 2019. 

Exclusion requests will be received via the USTR exclusion request processing portal. Details regarding the application process will be published in the Federal Register next week. 

U.S. tariffs totaling to $7.5 billion will be enacted on the European Union today. Producers of specialty food products such as Italian Parmesan, French wine and Spanish olives have been put on the bargaining table as recompense for the illegal EU Airbus subsidies reported earlier this month. 

In case you missed it, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) is implementing a new sulfur emission rule in 2020. This is expected to directly impact fuel, but it could have much further impacts across the shipping industry. With just over two months until implementation, our team is here to help supply chain managers plan for the impending changes approaching with the New Year.

The U.S. administration has halted trade negotiations and doubled Turkish steel tariffs in response to Turkey's advance into Syria on Monday, October 14. The proposed $100 billion trade deal with the country is on hold due to the advance. 

The current Miscellaneous Trade Bill (MTB) (H.R. 4318) is in place through December 31, 2020. However, the USITC is opening the new MTB Portal this Friday, October 11, 2019 to allow U.S. manufacturers and importers an opportunity to include products on the list for consideration over the next year.

This week, the United States was granted permission by the World Trade Organization (WTO) to impose up to $7.5 billion of annual tariffs on goods from the European Union. This action provides the U.S. administration with the ability to tax wine, airplanes and other goods exported from Europe to the United States.

On September 3, 2019, a Federal Register notice was published, stating that due to the ongoing challenges being addressed between the governments of the United States and China, Tranche 1, 2 and 3 would be increasing from 25 percent to 30 percent, effective October 1, 2019. At this time, it was announced that there would be a request for Public Comments through September 20, 2019.