Major West Coast ports have experienced recent disruptions as dockworkers and marine terminals continue to negotiate over a labor deal (see 2303270032).
The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee issued an update on the status of its Export Modernization Working Group as well as one draft recommendation for CBP ahead of the COAC’s June 14 meeting.
Certain production facilities outside of China are required to complete registration under China’s new food safety measure by June 30, USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report last week. The agency said facilities that want to “minimize potential trade disruptions” should upload “relevant information” under Decree 248, which was implemented last year to revise requirements for certain foreign export facilities and product registrations (see 2204010027 and 2304040065). Goods imported into China after June 30 from “facilities with registrations that produce certain categories of products and whose registration applications are not ‘complete’ may be at risk of not being able to clear customs,” USDA said. U.S. exporters should work with their suppliers and Chinese importers to check whether their products are “susceptible to the risks associated with the June 30 deadline.”
Vessel-operating common carriers must file all service contracts and amendments to the Federal Maritime Commission's SERVCON system "no later than" 30 days "after the effective date," the FMC reminded industry June 2. A failure to file contracts could result in "fines or other penalties," the FMC said. Filers must make sure that they have the right effective date in SERVCON and that amendments to contracts have a "prospective effect," the FMC said. Contracts also cannot reference terms that are not "explicitly contained in the service contract, unless those terms are readily available to the parties and the Commission," the FMC said. The FMC also provided a link to a webpage for information on how to file service contracts.
SSA Terminals will soon launch an "innovative approach" to "track and analyze the potential of providing extended weekend hours for shippers," Federal Maritime Commissioner Carl Bentzel said June 1. The program, which will be rolled out at SSA's terminals in Oakland, Seattle and Tacoma next month, will allow shippers to schedule a time during the week to pick up cargo on a Saturday or Sunday.
Food importer Bakerly failed to establish that carrier Seafrigo USA violated shipping regulations in its complaint to the Federal Maritime Commission last year, Seafrigo told the FMC this week, adding that the importer's reasons for avoiding paying detention and demurrage charges "cannot withstand scrutiny." New Jersey-based Seafrigo asked the FMC to "reject" Bakerly's complaint and "hold that Bakerly is responsible" for more than $2 million in demurrage and detention charges that Seafrigo "paid on its behalf."
The Bureau of Industry and Security is hosting an in-person job fair June 27 to recruit export compliance specialists, engineers, cybersecurity specialists, trade analysts, criminal investigators and more, the agency said on LinkedIn this week. The job fair will be held at the Commerce Department in Washington from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.EDT. Interested applicants can begin applying to specific job openings when they are posted on USAJobs.gov beginning June 13, BIS said.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls this week officially updated its two open general licenses to extend their validity for three years and make other “non-substantive edits” to the text of the licenses. The edits clarify that multiple defense articles “need not be reexported or retransferred simultaneously” and the open general licenses can be used to reexport or retransfer a single defense article, the May 31 notice said. The agency announced the three-year extension for the open general license pilot program in March, which will continue to authorize reexports and retransfers of certain defense items and services to Australia, Canada and the U.K. (see 2303280034 and 2207190008).
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls and the Census Bureau will hold a June 15 “refresher” webinar on using the Defense Export Control and Compliance System, the agencies announced this week. The webinar will feature a “deep dive into key Registration topics and functionality” and cover “upcoming updates that users can expect to the Registration application.” It will also include a question-and-answer period.
The Federal Maritime Commission last week approved a settlement agreement between U.S. metal trader CCMA and major ocean carrier Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC). The confidential settlement stems from a December CCMA complaint alleging MSC assessed it $114,000 in unfair detention and demurrage fees (see 2212080020). MSC denied those allegations, saying CCMA lacked "meritorious factual basis" for its claims (see 2301090017).