IMPORT: China Trade Issues Jan. 28, 2020

China Trade Issues

China is currently shut down for the annual Lunar New Year celebration. Most workers were scheduled to return to work in the next few days but due to the outbreak of the corona virus the government in China has extended the holiday break. While we expect most areas to be back to work on Feb. 3rd the Shanghai government has extended the holiday there until Feb. 9th. We are not sure if this further extension will be extended to other areas. Stay tuned for more information.

The China Trade War additional tariffs (Section 301 tariffs) are still in effect for over 50% of goods imported from China. While the recent Phase One Trade Agreement signed by the US and China will reduce the additional duty percentage on List 4A items from 15% to 7.5% effective Feb. 14th all other additional duties remained the same. We don’t expect further changes until if/when the US and China sign a phase two agreement. Word from Washington is that this won’t happen until after the November elections.

Over 30,000 duty exclusion requests were filed for items covered by List 3 and of those requests over 17,000 remain undecided. Approximately 400 requests were granted and over 12,000 have been denied so far. Importers who have merchandise subject to the additional China duty are encouraged to check the approved exclusion list to see if their product might qualify for an exclusion. The link for this list is found HERE - https://www.strtrade.com/assets/htmldocuments/Product%20Specific%20Exclusions%20Granted%20-%20All%20Lists%20Combined.pdf

New exclusions may be added at any time so be sure to check the above link at least once or twice a month. The current list is for all exclusions through Jan. 3rd.

Other Issues

Contacts in the industry have advised me that ocean carriers anticipate container volumes to remain below historical averages and carriers may cancel sailings due to lack of demand. Please take this into account when working against a deadline as it is possible that a quoted shipping schedule may change.

US Customs continues to increase their compliance enforcement efforts. Due diligence by every importer is the best way to help ensure your company is not at risk.

Speak with a professional to help you analyze your liabilities and to find ways to mitigate or eliminate those risks. We can help - contact us today - info@tradelogicintl.com.