The shift from NAFTA to USMCA has been taxing for vehicle manufacturing sector companies, panelists on a KPMG seminar said about the trade deal, one year in. But for Georgia-Pacific, compliance is simpler after the rewrite. Myesha Cottom, director of international trade at Georgia-Pacific, said that getting rid of the template for NAFTA goods and going to minimum data elements means less administrative burden. "I’m optimistic that the administrative burden will continue to decrease," she said during the July 28 webinar.

Uber Freight will acquire Transplace for about $2.25 billion, the companies said July 22. “Completion of this transaction will enable Uber Freight to serve substantially more customers at all levels of the freight industry and will expand its presence into Mexico and through new capabilities in intermodal and customs brokerage,” Uber said. Uber's purchase of Transplace from private equity firm TPG Capital includes “$750 million in common stock of Uber Freight’s parent company, Uber Technologies” and the rest in cash, it said. The deal shows the ride-hailing company is “leaning into Freight” after divesting noncore businesses, John Blackledge, an analyst at Cowen, wrote to investors July 23.

Lawyers speaking at the Foreign Trade Association’s World Trade Week event said CBP is already drowning because of the consequences of the massive increase in post-importation tariff exclusions, and they're expecting it to get worse. Michael Roll, from Roll & Harris trade law firm, said he's betting that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative will reopen the exclusion process for Section 301 tariffs before summer's over. But he expects it will take until late 2021 or early 2022 for exclusions to be granted, which means many imports that entered after exclusions expired, or that never had exclusions, will have been liquidated by the time the importers learn they didn't have to pay the tariff.

Sobel Network Shipping Co. acquired Sunshine Services International, an airline general sales agent “with an export-focused client base that will complement Sobel's expanding and diverse business footprint,” Sobel said in a May 3 news release. Terms of the deal weren't released.

The trade policy counsel at a free markets-oriented think tank said that the hike in tariffs on 70% of what we import from China has increased costs on consumers, led to an estimated 300,000 fewer jobs, and didn't achieve its aims. “That might have been worth it if China were making wholesale changes to its commercial policies, but the early indications are not positive,” Clark Packard said during an R Street Institute webinar April 9. Packard said that staffers on Capitol Hill accept his argument that tariffs are damaging to the U.S. economy, but they say that not doing anything to respond to China's quest for economic domination is not an answer.

The U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council aims to increase trade between the two countries, as Bangladesh is expected to graduate from the least-developed countries list by 2026. The U.S. is the largest importer of Bangladeshi products, and imported not quite $7 billion in 2019, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. A launch program hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that Bangladesh imported more than $1 billion in American agricultural products.

The American Association of Port Authorities said that $17 billion dedicated to ports is “a substantial down payment on the $29 billion in federal investments necessary to modernizing our ports and ensuring that our trade infrastructure remains strong.” It said that more than a quarter of U.S. GDP is connected to imports and exports through the seaports.

Penny Naas, president of UPS's international public affairs, said one bright spot in logistics during the pandemic is that more countries accepted electronic documents as goods crossed borders. She gave the example of an inefficient paper-based process as a country requiring a stamp, or chop, on goods entering or exiting the country. “A lot of that was suspended during COVID-19, but we’re starting to see some of that creep back,” she said during an Atlantic Council webinar March 31 on logistics. Naas called for digitalizing the import processes for low-value shipments, as direct exports to consumers grow rapidly. “There’s a way to digitalize it; but it’s expensive, and it’s not necessarily the sexiest of issues to digitalize the border,” she said. But if countries did, it would be a tremendous opportunity to stop illicit trade and increase revenue collection, she said.

Alcohol trade groups and the retailers and restaurants that sell alcoholic beverages are asking for the tariffs on distilled spirits in connection with the Section 232 tariffs to be lifted and the pause in tariffs on wines and spirits in the aircraft subsidy case to be made permanent. Calling themselves the Toasts Not Tariffs Coalition, the 47-member coalition made the call March 23. They noted that European countries continue to tax bourbon and whiskey at 25%, and that that rate is set to double on June 1, because of U.S. tariffs on British and European Union-made steel.

Descartes Systems acquired QuestaWeb, Descartes said in a March 1 news release. Descartes said paid about $36 million with cash on hand for the company, a trade management software company and ACE developer. “In today’s complex and dynamic regulatory environment, technology is crucial to ensure that supply chains are compliant and efficient at each step along the way,” said Ken Wood, executive vice president-product management at Descartes. “The addition of QuestaWeb’s FTZ solution brings an important capability to our Global Logistics Network and will help our customers manage the entire foreign-trade zone process, allowing them to minimize duties, fees and taxes while remaining compliant with CBP regulations.” Descartes has made several acquisitions in recent years (see 1901280021 and 1612280024).