Shap Talk

Shipments Detained for Forced Labor

CBP has detained 1,432 shipments suspected of being made with forced labor and is looking for importers to keep an eye out for more.
According to AnnMarie Highsmith, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Executive Assistant Commissioner in the Office of Trade, “I need to hear your feedback. I need to hear about things that are hard in the process so that we can address them.”
Take a look and familiarize yourself with the 11 Indicators of Forced Labor, published by the International Labor Organization (ILO).

On October 21, the USTR announced that the Treasury department and certain EU countries (Italy, Spain, France, the UK, and Austria) reached a settlement over digital services.
As a result, the proposed tariffs that were suspended, will now be terminated…isn’t that just “tariffic”?!
India and Turkey were not part of the settlement; the 25% tariff on the combined 48 classifications will remain in effect through December.

After “Biden” his time addressing the public, the President recently discussed the supply chain crisis with US ports and carriers.
Los Angeles and Long Beach terminals have committed to the Biden administration that they will increase their operating hours from 20 to 24 hours daily to relieve congestion.
The terminals believe the productivity will not be realized unless appointment volume and truck turn time also increase.
Want more supply chain news? Check out Supply Chain Reactions for a condensed update for American shippers!

Containers in Seattle are being unloaded timely; however, they are being stored in brush piles and it is taking a while for containers to become available.
We can’t “contain” our disappointment over the situation; we will post any updates as they develop.

China is continuing to experience rolling blackouts.
The blackouts began in late September and are having a scattered effect on manufacturing and transportation.
Shapiro will continue to provide more updates as they become available.

Although easing in the Transpacific freight market is expected, ocean transportation will likely remain in favor of steamship lines through end of 2022.
This is due to supply chain bottlenecks that do not show signs of improvement.
We’re “a-freight” that’s it for international news this week, folks!