Ascent Global Logistics Blog

The office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) recently issued a notice, officially "postponing" the tariff rate increase "until further notice." S301 List 3 tariffs will remain at 10 percent instead of increasing to 25 percent. The delayed increase is due to progress in US and China trade negotiations.

Last week, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Kevin McAleenan announced that CBP will reassign up to 750 officers from ports of entry along the US-Mexico border. These officers will assist US Border Patrol with processing an increased number of migrant crossings.

Over the weekend, the US Administration announced that it would postpone increasing S301 List 3 tariffs. The United States and Chinese President Xi Jinping plan to meet to reach a final trade agreement.

Over the last several months, there have been a number of key updates to S232 Tariffs and S301 Tariffs Lists 1-3. In addition, the United States and China continue to hold trade talks. Last week in Beijing, key officials from the United States and China outlined a “10-item list of ways China can reduce its trade surplus with the US."

Congress has requested that the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) create the formal exclusion process for products outlined under the S301 List 3 tariffs. These tariffs for $200 billion worth of imports from China are scheduled to increase from 10 percent to 25 percent on March 2, 2019.

Impending US Government Shutdown Averted

On the afternoon of February 15, 2019, US President Donald Trump signed an emergency spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown. The legislation provides $333 Billion worth of funding to several key Cabinet agencies through September 2019. 

Believe it or not, it is still possible to ship items ahead of Chinese New Year. Starting on February 5, 2019, all manufacturing in and shipping to and from Asian ports will be affected by the celebration of Chinese New Year. Ports in Asia could continue to see delays up to one month after Chinese New Year.

Earlier this month, a fire broke out on the Hapag-Lloyd vessel Yantian Express as it departed from the Canadian port of Halifax. Attempts to extinguish the fire were immediate, but weather hampered the efforts. Now, Hapag-Lloyd has formally declared General Average on its fire-stricken vessel and has diverted the vessel to the Bahamas for salvage purposes.  

As the longest United States government shutdown in history continues, importers, exporters and trade agencies are beginning to feel the impacts. Typically, organizations such as the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would be in high gear. However, many of these agencies are operating at reduced capacity due to the discontinuation of non-essential services.

United States Trade Representative (USTR) issued a Federal Register notice today to delay collection of 25 percent S301 duty rate on List 3 goods until March 2, 2019. Click here to see the official statement from the USTR.