The threat of a California port surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers has proved very successful at clearing cargo off docks, Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles, said during a Jan. 19 House Homeland Security subcommittee hearing. He said the fee threat has substantially helped trade flows at both Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which announced the charge in October but has postponed enforcing it each month since (see 2201140055). “That fee has never been implemented and we've not collected a dime, but incredible progress has been made to move cargo off our docks,” Seroka said.
Terminal operators at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports this week said its traffic mitigation fee will return to normal levels Feb. 1 after proving ineffective. The adjusted fee was originally announced In November by the West Coast Marine Terminal Operator Agreement to help incentivize the movement of containers during off-peak hours (see 2111120022). The fee, in place from Dec. 1 through Jan. 31, was intended to “create a financial incentive” to move containers during off-peak hours by only charging the fee during peak hours,” the WCMTOA said in a Jan. 18 news release.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Jan. 14. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until Jan. 21.
A bill that would have imposed sanctions on companies associated with the Russia-backed Nord Stream 2 pipeline was rejected by the Senate Jan. 13 after it failed to garner the necessary 60 votes to pass. The bill, introduced in December by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex. (see 2201110059), faced strong opposition from the White House, which said before the vote that the bill would “only serve to undermine unity amongst our European allies,” including Germany (see 2201110059).
Agricultural and energy market access in Mexico are of concern to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, as he talks about the need to enforce USMCA's provisions, but he dismissed Mexico's concern that the U.S. is not following the treaty's text as it lays out rules for imported automobiles and light trucks to enter the U.S. tariff-free.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week fined a Hong Kong company more than $5.2 million after it illegally bought more than 64,000 tons of Iranian thermoplastic, the largest fine by OFAC in more than a year. The agency said Sojitz illegally bought the Iranian “high density polyethylene resin” from a Thai supplier to sell to Chinese consumers. OFAC determined the case to be non-egregious, partly because senior compliance officials weren’t aware of the illegal purchases and had repeatedly told its employees that they could not buy Iranian goods with U.S. dollars.
The Los Angeles and Long Beach ports again postponed a new surcharge meant to incentivize the movement of dwelling containers (see 2110280031), the two ports announced Jan. 10. The ports originally planned to begin imposing the fee Nov. 15, but have postponed it each week since. The latest extension delays the effective date until Jan. 17.
Colombia recently issued a notice clarifying its new de minimis exemption for certain postal and courier imports, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council reported Jan. 6. The country said it will impose value-added taxes -- but not import duties -- on imports valued at $200 or less, regardless of the country of export or origin, HKTDC said. Colombia won't impose import duties or VAT if the import was sent from the U.S. and “contains fewer than six units of non-commercial merchandise.” Both import and VAT fees will apply, however, if the shipment is valued at more than $200.
The Census Bureau’s proposal to add a new country of origin data element in the Automated Export System (see 2112140033) could place a significant burden on some U.S. exporters, said Ted Murphy, a trade lawyer with Sidley Austin. Murphy said he expects businesses and at least one trade association to push back on the rule in comments due next month. “I can't imagine anyone who's going to write in favor of this proposal,” Murphy said in an interview.
The Bureau of Industry and Security again renewed its temporary export control on certain artificial intelligence software as it prepares to make the classification permanent, BIS said in a notice. The temporary control -- first issued in January 2020 (see 2001030024), extended last year (see 2101050018) and renewed for a second time this week -- placed unilateral restrictions on geospatial imagery software by adding it to the 0Y521 Temporary Export Control Classification Numbers Series. The latest one-year renewal is effective Jan. 6.