Per our Shap Flash on March 5th, President Trump announced that India and Turkey’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status would be revoked. Trump’s announcement followed a 2018 USTR investigation into the trade and fairness practices of several GSP eligible governments, after various complaints from the U.S. dairy and medical sectors claimed that the program […]

A third round of product exclusions on Section 301 List 1 Chinese goods was released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) on April 15, 2019. The announcement highlights an additional 21 specially prepared product descriptions, covering 348 separate exclusion requests, subject to partial exclusion from Section 301 tariffs. The newest batch of […]

On March 20, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) released an additional list of partially or fully excluded Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) subheadings in regard to Section 301 List 1 tariffs. The 33 newly excluded HTS subheadings supplement the original list of 22 HTS subheadings previously excluded by the USTR on December 21, […]

Shapiro is excited to unveil our new website design! When accessing www.shapiro.com, visitors might notice the website layout looks slightly different than in the past. We decided it was time for a transformation to the site, and it was crucial to make sure our “quirkiness” wasn’t lost. Adjustments to change can be tough at times, […]

Following the recent announcement of additional tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, President Trump is now taking additional steps that could ignite a full-blown trade war with China by pushing for a hefty $50 billion in tariffs on imported Chinese goods. Trump’s concerns about the U.S.’s $375 billion trade deficit with China is fueling this […]

The Trans-Pacific Maritime (TPM) Conference is an annual gathering of supply chain executives wherein industrywide successes and pain points are deliberated, with presentations and discussions typically leading to an overarching path of future resolve in an otherwise fickle trade. However, this year, aside from uniform predictions of relative ocean rate stability throughout 2018, the consensus […]

While enforcement of ISF (Importer Security Filing) violations began in May 2015, the enforcement environment has stiffened markedly in the last year. ISF requires importers and carriers to provide a set of information for any shipments being imported into the United States within at least 24 hours before loading their shipments or else they may […]

Though numerous Maersk systems remain offline as a result of Tuesday’s cyber-attack, the company is now accepting bookings from customers who utilize the INTTRA system. Bookings made on INTTRA are likely to take longer than normal to process, but the system is operational. Maersk’s e-mail and communication platforms remain offline, so customers needing to contact […]

Maersk and APM Terminal operations remain in a critical state as a result of cyber-attack Petya, the virus that has halted operations at nearly ten multinational corporations. In their latest press release, Maersk outlined the following points: Multiple Maersk IT systems remain powered down in an effort to further secure data. As a result of […]

The Journal of Commerce’s 17th Annual Trans-Pacific Maritime (TPM) Conference opening session tensed as Harold Daggett, the International Longshoreman’s Association president, strongly urged its members “not to engage in any work stoppage or any other violations of our current master contract.”  The active master contract contains a no-strike clause to prevent work stoppages that could […]

International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) have ratified the five-year contract agreement with the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA).  The contract was confirmed on Friday, May 22, 2015, more than a year since negotiations began, and will be retroactive to the previous contract’s July 1, 2014 expiration, remaining valid through July 1, 2019. The agreement was […]

The port congestion surcharge (PCS) that has been threatening West Coast trade since mid-November has once again been suspended until further notice.  Major carriers such as Maersk, Hapag Lloyd, Evergreen, NYK, OOCL, and CMA-CGM sent out notification today, November 26, 2014, announcing the postponement.  The congestion charge, originally implemented on November 14, has been on […]