candis, Author at Carson International

May 20, 2020

CBP Updates Guidance on Section 232 and 301 Claims, Extensions, and Corrections

Earlier this month, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued Cargo Message 19-000260, which provides updated guidance on seeking retroactive product exclusions from the administration’s Section 232 and Section 301 trade enforcement measures. Click here to view.

Section 232 and Section 301 product exclusions may be retroactive for unliquidated entries and for entries that are liquidated but where the liquidation is not final and the protest period has not expired.

If a product exclusion has been granted, an importer of record may request a refund by filing a post summary correction for unliquidated entries or file a protest for entries that have liquidated but where the liquidation is not final and the protest period has not expired.

When a product exclusion is granted, an importer may submit a correction to request a refund on unliquidated entries up to 15 days prior to the scheduled liquidation date (generally within 300 days from the date of entry summary filing). If an entry summary is set to liquidate in less than 15 days or has already liquidated, the entry summary is beyond the filing period for correction. However, the importer may file a protest so long as it is filed within the 180-day period following liquidation of the impacted entry summaries.

Approved requests extend the liquidation of an entry summary for one year. When a product exclusion is granted, an importer may submit a PSC to request a refund on the entry summary(ies). If a product exclusion is not approved, no further action is taken, and the entry summary will liquidate as entered one year later than the originally scheduled liquidation date.

The status of Section 232 exclusion requests can be checked at the U.S. Department of Commerce here.

Section 301 exclusions are posted by the USTR here.

May 19, 2020

What Is the Difference Between Logistics and Freight Forwarding?

While freight forwarders and logistics companies may seem similar or even synonymous, there are some differences between the two to keep in mind. Unlike logistics companies, freight forwarders might be partners with a network of logistics companies, but they do not own any assets themselves.

What Is a Freight Forwarding Company?

Freight forwarders tend to partner with several logistics companies either nationally or internationally, which means that price checking capabilities are far better and more thorough than what you would get when working directly with one logistics company. Freight forwarders also have more knowledge and experience around specialty companies, which often vary greatly regarding types of transport, house moving, fragile goods, and lead times, among other elements.

What Is a Logistics Company?

Logistics companies, unlike freight forwarders, own all of their own assets including intermodal fleets of trucks, boats, or planes, but without any access to actual shipping routes. Logistics companies often specialize in specific areas such as dry box, long haul, cold storage, intracity, or large scale. At the same time, they’ll attempt to cover every aspect of the supply chain.

Generally, a logistics company is responsible for managing goods’ physical movement along the supply chain. In some cases, they may also manage documentation.

What are the Benefits of a Freight Forwarder?

There are multiple benefits of working with a freight forwarding company as opposed to a logistics company. The advantages include:

A network of multiple logistics companies that helps reduce prices with more diversity
Technology-based freight forwarders can provide instant quotes

Pricing is more transparent, as most freight forwarders will provide customers with in-depth breakdowns of all costs
Maintain data regarding specialty routes along with route optimization to help minimize delays and ensure timely arrival of goods
Have a good understanding of logistics companies in many different specialty areas, including household goods, fragile goods, cold storage, and others

In addition to these benefits, freight forwarders can also handle all of the paperwork associated with freight forwarding, including customs documentation, bills of lading, shipper’s export declarations, insurance forms, and letters of invoice.

Why You Should Turn to Carson for Reliable Freight Forwarding

Supply chains need freight forwarders that have a good understanding of the goods involved, along with the various suppliers and trade routes. Carson International can give you top-tier customer service and dependable solutions regardless of your needs. Some of the specific advantages you’ll get with Carson include:

North American Coverage

With offices located in Toronto, Montreal, Washington, and Vancouver, Carson can meet all international freight needs.

Global Coverage

Carson has a dedicated network of logistics partners all over the world, which provides optimal international coverage via all major global logistics hubs.

Asia-Pacific Specialists

Carson specializes in cargo management through the Asia-Pacific logistics hub, with many years of experience using this trade lane.

Best-in-Class Tracking Software

We maximize the visibility of your shipment across the supply chain using some of the best tracking software available. You can easily access and view all shipment documentation, reports, and billing information using our convenient web app.

Customizable Solutions

Depending on your specific needs, we can customize a solution to proactively identify and resolve issues anywhere in your supply chain.

All of these advantages can make Carson International an invaluable asset to your operations as a leading freight forwarder.

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May 19, 2020

Automakers Reopen Across North America While Bracing for Challenges Ahead of CUSMA/USMCA

Auto manufacturing plants are resuming operations across North America, however, they are anticipating challenges to come from a new socially distant workplace and heavy reliance on partners in Mexico and Canada to succeed.

Mexico said it would allow the auto industry to resume on June 1, but would let companies start sooner if they have the approved safety measures in place.

Mexican officials say the country is experiencing its peak of virus transmission, with the total number of confirmed cases surpassing 45,000. Still, the country this week will ease lockdown measures in areas where there are no confirmed cases of the virus and plans to do a wider reopening on June 1.

Production of autos, including trucks, has plummeted during the pandemic. In April, the output of autos and parts fell by more than 70 percent, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest figures. Industry leaders expect figures from May and early June to be more telling on the state of the industry, and those will determine if they need some form of stimulus from the government to get past the fallout from the pandemic.

Automakers are also bracing for additional stress to come in July, when CUSMA/ USMCA goes into effect. The North American auto industry has repeatedly asked for some flexibility with implementing the new rules, which will require costly and time-consuming changes.

Auto industry officials are awaiting regulations they will have to follow in order to qualify for reduced tariffs in the region, which are expected to be published by June 1.

May 15, 2020

How to Choose a Customs Broker for Your Business

If you’ve decided to work with a customs broker to help maintain compliance, it’s important to find the right broker. Taking the following steps can help you make the right selection and find a customs broker you can trust.

Find a Broker with Industry Experience

While a broker might be dependable and have plenty of experience in a variety of industries, you need to find a broker that has more experience in your specific industry. You might have specific products that you work with that a general customs broker might be more unfamiliar with, which could lead to problems.

Keep in mind that different brokers will have experience with different types of products or agencies, meaning that you need to find one that knows how to work with your products and meet your needs.

Request References and Reviews

Don’t choose a broker based solely on what they have to say about their services and reliability. You can verify their legitimacy and reputation by finding out what their past and existing clients have to say about them. Requesting a reference is an important way to understand your providers expertise in the Customs Brokerage environment.

Make Sure the Broker Can Accommodate a Large Volume of Goods

If you’re working with a wide variety or a large volume of products, try to find a broker that can handle them. Brokers should have a good understanding of your company’s needs and all requirements in place for imports and exports. The right broker will be able to properly allocate budget, time, and effort.

Select an Approved Broker

Brokers should use approved customs declaration systems that utilize up-to-date technology along with in-house management. Also, make sure the broker is either a licensed customs broker or a registered declaration bureau authorized to work in your jurisdictions.

Approved brokers will have all of the technology required for efficient transferral of documentation such as customs permits, packing lists, and invoices.

Contrast and Compare Brokers

When looking for the perfect customs broker for your business, don’t settle for the first broker you find, regardless of how compatible they might seem. Look around and compare pricing and other aspects such as specialization and experience.

Look for a Customs Broker that Adapts to Your Needs

It doesn’t matter if you’re a mult-national corporation with containers to move, or a single entrepreneur that needs to ship product orders for their start up–the world of international shipping is complex, and you need to partner with someone that will customize a solution exactly to your business’ unique needs. If you work with a broker that can provide 24/7 service, 7 days a week, they can stay up to date on order tracking and solve any potential problems or delays as they happen–not just during office hours. Selecting a customs broker that truly listens to your needs, and adapts their services to help satisfy them can mean the difference between satisfying your customers and wowing them.

Taking all of these steps will help narrow down your selection when searching for the right broker. Once you locate a good customs broker, you’ll be able to benefit from consistent compliance and cost-effectiveness.

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May 15, 2020

What are the Different Types of Freight?

In today’s modern supply chain, a variety of flexible freight solutions exist to meet the unique business needs of organizations around the world. Depending on your products, suppliers, and trade patterns, you may need one, or a combination of freight options to get your shipments where they need to go. With the help of professional logistics experts, you can take advantage of these efficient trade solutions to get your goods anywhere in the world.

Air Freight Shipping: Air Freight and Cargo

Air freight shipping involves the transportation of goods by charter or commercial air carriers. Along with being the fastest way to move products around the world, which is ideal for time-critical cargo, this form of shipping allows goods to be delivered to a wide range of locations, both nationally and internationally.

Because their shipping times are quite short, air freight services often have low insurance premiums. Additionally, since air freight travels through highly-secured airports, this freight option offers enhanced security.

Ocean freight shipping: Sea Cargo

Sea freight shipping uses ocean carriers to transport goods packed in large standardize size cargo containers. Generally, cargo containers are picked up by shipping vessels at major ports around the world and travel through specific freight lanes to reach their target destination.

Although ocean freight shipping takes longer than air freight shipping, it’s often recommended for heavy and bulky shipments because it’s usually less expensive. While air freight shipping factors weight into the total cost, ocean freight shipping charges only by container. In general, a full container (standard size 20’ or 40’x 40’) is charged a single flat rate, while less than container loads (LCL) are charged by cubic meters. If you go the LCL route, your goods will be packed with other shipments in the same container.

Ground Transportation: Land Freight

Ground shipping involves the movement of goods by railway or by truck. While this type of shipping can be used on its own, it is often used in combination with air freight or ocean freight services to move cargo before or after the airport or seaport. When multiple shipping methods are used, it is referred to as intermodal freight transport. Ground transportation services can take cargo directly from the good’s origin to its required destination, which is often referred to as door-to-door shipping. Ground shipping options include:

Rail freight shipping

Freight train shipping uses extensive railway systems to ship cargo to its intended destination. A flexible option that is usually cheaper and more environmentally friendly than other options, railway shipping can carry standard size cargo containers, bulk commodities, vehicles, and other specialized options.

Less Than Truck Load Shipping (LTL)

LTL shipping is a great option for customers who have smaller loads to ship because this method combines shipments from several customers into one truck trailer. Customers using this method pay for the portion their freight takes up in a standard trailer.

Full Truckload Freight Shipping (FTL)

FTL is when one customer uses up the entire space in a standard truck trailer to carry their goods to a destination. Some customers may also put a partial load on its own in one truckload. This option is generally quicker than LTL because it’s only used by one customer for one destination.

You don’t have to figure out the right freight option to use on your own. Carson International’s freight experts can help you determine the best option for your supply chain demands. Get a quote for free.

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May 14, 2020

Fourth Round Of Exclusions For China Section 301 List 4A Includes Medical Products

The U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) granted a fourth round of exclusions from Section 301 List 4A tariffs on Chinese imports, which cover three 10-digit Harmonized Tariff System subheadings, and five specially-prepared product descriptions, several of which are related to medical products involved in the COVID-19 response.

The excluded HTS subheading are as follows:

3306.20.0000 – Preparations for oral or dental hygiene, including denture fixative pastes and powders; yarn used to clean between the teeth (dental floss), in individual retail packages: Yarn used to clean between the teeth (dental floss);

6506.10.6030 – Other headgear, whether or not lined or trimmed: Safety headgear: Other – Motorcycle helmets; and

8512.10.4000 – Electrical lighting or signaling equipment (excluding articles of heading 8539), windshield wipers, defrosters and demisters, of a kind used for cycles or motor vehicles; parts thereof: Lighting or visual signaling equipment of a kind used on bicycles: Visual signaling equipment.

The exclusions with specially-prepared product descriptions include:

Plastic tumblers used in healthcare facilities (3924.10.4000)
Plastic disposable identification wristbands worn by medical patients (3926.90.9990)
Plastic manually-operated pill or tablet crushers (8479.82.0080)
Bluetooth tracking devices (8517.62.0090)
Wireless communication apparatus capable of receiving audio data to be distributed to wireless speakers (8517.62.0090)

These exclusions will apply from September 1, 2018, through September 1, 2020, and apply to any product that satisfies the description in the annex of the Federal Register notice, regardless of whether the company using the exclusion filed the request.

If you have any questions about this latest round of tariff exclusions, including determining whether your products qualify, please reach out to Carson.

Get in touch:

Tyler Carson, President, tyler@carson.ca
Dave Pentland, VP, dwpentland@carson.ca
Matt Earish, COO, matt@carson.ca

May 13, 2020

Revised Lacey Act Provisions for Importing into the United States

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended the Lacey Act to provide, among other things, that importers submit a declaration at the time of importation for certain plants and plant products. Enforcement of the declaration requirement began on April 1, 2009, and products requiring a declaration are being phased-in.

The Lacey Act, first enacted in 1900 and significantly amended in 1981, is the United States’ oldest wildlife protection statute. The Act combats trafficking in illegally taken wildlife, fish, or plants. The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act by expanding its protection to a broader range of plants and plant products.

Phase VI of the enforcement schedule, will take effect on October 1, 2020. As part of the enforcement schedule, the USDA has added 29 new HTS codes that will require information upon import into the United States.

Product categories covered under this phase of the plan include:

Essential Oils
Trunks, Cases, Suitcases
Wood and Articles of Wood
Musical Instruments
Miscellaneous Manufactured Articles

The USDA is inviting public comment on the products covered under this phase of the plan, as well as on whether any additional Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) chapters should be included in the current phase-in schedule. Should there be additions to phase VI, the USDA will provide at least 6 months’ notice to persons and industries affected by those changes to facilitate compliance with the new requirements.

To view the full list of new HTS codes and learn how to submit public comment on the products covered under phase VI of the enforcement plan, click here.

May 12, 2020

Department of Homeland Security Criticized for Lack Of USMCA Enforcement Implementation

Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee are urging the Trump administration to comply with all the requirements in the USMCA implementing bill, after DHS failed to meet an April 28 deadline to establish a task force aimed at enforcing the forced labor prohibition.

Earlier on Monday, Brenda Smith, CBP executive assistant commissioner for the Office of Trade, said in a call with reporters that the agency is excited to talk to its Mexican and Canadian counterparts on how they can use customs authority to tackle the “need to remove forced labor from supply chains.” CBP and USTR did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Ways and Means letter.

Democrats are particularly sensitive to enforcement of USMCA given that it was central in their negotiations with the Trump administration all of last year. They’ve repeatedly vowed to have strong oversight over the implementation process, which has been moving quickly as the deal is set to go into effect on July 1.

May 11, 2020

Industry Input Needed on Tariff Rate Quotas — Refined Sugar and Sugar-Containing Products

In keeping with Global Affairs Canada’s policy, the Government of Canada is seeking input from Canadians on the administration of two new Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) for sugar and sugar-containing products to the United States established under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA), in order to develop administration policies.

These TRQs are for:

Sugar-Containing Products for Export to the United States under CUSMA
Refined Sugar for Export to the United States under CUSMA

To ensure efficiency and effectiveness in developing and administering new administration policies, the Government of Canada is seeking the views of stakeholders with an interest in the administration of these two new quotas.

Global Affairs Canada would like to hear from:

the Canadian public
producers, refiners, processors, further processors, distributors, retailers and exporters
academics and experts
Indigenous groups
national and provincial industry associations
small, medium and large enterprises
national, provincial, territorial and regional associations
other interested stakeholders

To participate in the consultation, interested parties are encouraged to review the background information and provide feedback through the online questionnaire provided by Global Affairs Canada.

Click here if you are interested in providing feedback. Stakeholders have until 11:59 p.m. (Pacific Time) on May 15, 2020 to submit their responses, comments, and suggestions.

May 8, 2020

What is Freight Forwarding?

At its core, freight forwarding is a set of services that coordinates the shipment of goods from one location to another. In today’s global market, it’s one of the most commonly used methods for the international transport of goods.

Role of a Freight Forwarder

Freight forwarders are professionals who arrange the movement of goods nationally and/or around the world. According to the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, the freight forwarder’s role is to ensure traded goods reach their correct destination:

On-time,
In good condition, and
In the most economically efficient way.

Depending on your freight and trade needs, freight forwarders coordinate the shipments of goods with a single carrier or with multiple carriers. These carriers work by air, ocean, and land to get your goods where they need to go, anywhere in the world. While many carriers specialize in one mode of transport, such as cargo planes or freight trucking, some offer multiple modes of service. Freight forwarding professionals handle the transportation logistics of all of this for their customers.

Additionally, with a deep understanding of suppliers and trade patterns, freight forwarders negotiate with their network of global partners to find solutions for your supply chain.

International Freight Forwarder

Freight forwarding plays an essential role in our ever-changing and increasingly connected world of global trade. Along with connecting global supply chains, freight forwarders work on behalf of their customers to ensure their goods are smoothly imported and exported around the world. This makes international trade easier for entrepreneurs and industry leaders alike.

Along with coordinating the logistics, experienced freight forwarders are experts in customs regulations, negotiating tariffs, and the different requirements to ship by air, land, and ocean. This knowledge allows qualified freight forwarders to effectively manage the complex risks of international shipping for their customers.

How to Choose a Freight Forwarder

Because of the complexities involved in freight forwarding, it’s essential that you choose a reputable freight forwarding company that you can trust. Along with continuously staying up-to-date on the ever-changing world of international trade and customs regulations, they need to be committed to helping you with your unique business needs.

It’s also key to partner with customer-focused freight forwarding providers that use top-of-the-line technology to track your freight. This allows you to have visibility on your freight shipments as they travel, taking away the guesswork. A company that offers you the ability to view freight forwarding documents and billing documents online will help you further streamline your processes and allow you to focus your attention on growing your business.

Whether you’re an individual needing to organize a shipment, a global brand needing to get your goods from your manufacturer to your distribution hub, or somewhere in between, freight forwarding is a flexible solution designed for today’s modern supply chain.

Are you in need of freight forwarding services? Carson International works with our network of global logistics partners, to provide you with flexible freight solutions to achieve your international freight requirements. Get a quote for free.

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