Trade and Compliance

How the FMC monitors ‘blank sailings’ and their competitive impacts

U.S. Federal Maritime Commission

The coronavirus pandemic has made the schedule-driven ocean container carriers seasick. To counter decreased U.S. import volumes and maximize vessel operations, these companies have resorted to the use of “blank,” or canceled, sailings.

Shippers and non-vessel-operating common carriers have struggled to manage their own fragile supply chains against hundreds of skipped-sailings announcements in recent months.

While blank sailings offer ocean container carriers a means to economize their...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/how-the-fmc-monitors-blank-sailings-and-their-competitive-impacts

Commentary: COVID-19 severely impacts the ‘Blue Economy’

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

Since the beginnings of COVID-19, the political rhetoric masking the severity and economic impact of the virus has piled up to levels we have not seen since the U.S.-China trade war. Just as the flow of trade refuted the trade war promises and winning declarations, the same can be applied to the impact and ruthlessness of C-19.

A cargo ship being unloaded at...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-covid-19-severely-impacts-the-blue-economy

Maersk aims to expand European customs brokerage footprint

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group (OTCMKTS: AMKBY) has reached an agreement with Bridgepoint Development Capital to acquire the Swedish customs broker, KGH Customs Services, for an estimated $279 million.

The liner carrier said the acquisition of the Gothenberg, Sweden-based company, which is subject to regulatory approval, will expand its customs services offerings to European shippers.

“We achieve all this in one go instead of having to build our expertise through multiple acquisitions,” said Vincent...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/maersk-aims-to-expand-european-customs-brokerage-footprint

Under USMCA, Canada rolls with ‘new NAFTA’

Truck cross the Blue Water Bridge at the US-Canada border. The USMCA trade agreement may impact cross-border trade.

Before the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement took effect at midnight Wednesday, Energy Transportation Group in Quebec had spent months working to ensure that its trucks will continue to move freight between Canada and the U.S. without a hitch.

“I don’t foresee any changes. If the trucks keep rolling, everyone will be all right,” Energy CEO Shawn Girard told FreightWaves.

The trade pact came into force on Canada Day, the country’s national holiday and normally a slow day for freight. However,...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/under-usmca-canada-rolls-with-new-nafta

Owner-operators flag USMCA’s scrutiny of Mexican cross-border trucking

Provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) meant to weed out unqualified trucking companies south of the border were highlighted today by small-business trucking companies as the trade pact goes into force.

“The USMCA creates a thorough review process to identify and remove Mexico-based carriers and operators that pose material economic harm to American truckers,” commented Todd Spencer, president of the Owner-Operator Independent Trucking Association (OOIDA). “This means...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/owner-operators-flag-usmcas-scrutiny-of-mexican-cross-border-trucking

CBP makes it easier for shippers to obtain manifest data confidentiality

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says its new automated tool allows importers and exporters to apply and receive approval for their vessel manifest confidentiality requests from the agency within 24 hours.

Before CBP deployed the new online application, shippers had to submit their confidentiality requests to keep their names and addresses off the public manifest record to the agency by mail, fax or email, which often required the agency 60 to 90 days to process.

In addition, CBP said the...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/cbp-makes-it-easier-for-shippers-to-obtain-manifest-data-confidentiality

Only certainty in ocean trade is uncertainty

“Uncertainty” was a word repeated throughout a maritime trade forecast Tuesday. 

Judah Levine, the research lead for Freightos, said the overall sentiment throughout the maritime industry is one of uncertainty as the coronavirus pandemic lingers.

“If consumer behavior is uncertain, then businesses are uncertain when to order and then carriers are uncertain about the level of capacity that needs to be in the market in order to manage the businesses,” Levine said during the MarineTraffic-hosted...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/only-certainty-in-ocean-trade-is-uncertainty

US to hit Canada with aluminum tariffs, report says

A truck hauls metal in a flatbed trailer. Renewed tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada could impact speciality cross-border trucking.

The United States is preparing to re-impose tariffs on aluminum imports from Canada, according to Bloomberg. The move could disrupt cross-border supply chains by leading U.S. companies to re-source aluminum. 

The Trump administration is planning to restore a 10% tariff on July 1 in the event Canada refuses to cut exports, Bloomberg reported, citing anonymous sources. The tariffs would come on the same day that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) takes effect.

The revival of aluminum...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/us-to-hit-canada-with-aluminum-tariffs-report-says

Commentary: Degrees of freedom in the skies

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

The airport landing slots used by commercial airlines for their domestic routes are quite valuable. The same can be said for landing slots used on international routes. The difference is that the international routes are regulated by both the host country and the airline’s home country. This is the result of a unique feature of international commercial air...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-degrees-of-freedom-in-the-skies

Commentary: COVID-19 pushes India down path to digitized trade documentation

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates. 

The lockdowns caused by COVID-19 around the world have created disruptions to the normal processes and procedures required to ensure the smooth flow of global trade and commerce. In India, this has prompted the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Commerce to increase their efforts to adopt technology to keep the volume of imports and exports at pre-pandemic...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary:-covid-19-pushes-india-down-path-to-digitized-trade-documentation

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