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Ocean Freight Market Updates

American Toymakers Reeling Following Tariff Announcements
Following the latest round of tariff announcements, many toy companies — including Hasbro — are looking for ways to reduce Chinese imports. Hasbro currently imports two-thirds of its toys from China but hopes to drop that to half by the end of 2020.

Additive Manufacturing on the Rise
Otherwise known as 3D printing, additive manufacturing is becoming a feasible option for businesses looking to lower supply chain costs for manufactured parts. Companies like BMW and Adidas have invested in the technology despite the fact that it accounts for only 0.1% of the $12.7 trillion global manufacturing market.

Air Freight Market Update

Customs and Trade Updates

Changes Coming to Importer-Broker Verifications
CBP for years has said they want customs brokers to verify more information on the importers they are working with. Typically brokers have collected more of the importer's information than is required to protect themselves. CBP posted a proposed rule on the Federal Register which would require brokers to collect and verify more information on their importers during the validation of the POA than has been asked in the past. The information would also need to be re-verified on an annual basis on every data point, and also be able to produce a record of those re-verifications and whether anything has changed. There would be a 2-3 year grace period for existing customers so brokers can have time to adapt to a final rule. Comments are due on October 14th for the changes. Some of the suggestions that appear they will receive the most comments are; getting a signors date of birth, copy of a government-issued ID, a recent credit report, in-person meeting, and visiting a client's place of business.

CBP Modifies Post-Summary Corrections
CBP has posted a change to its rules regarding PSC's on entries where liquidation has been extended. The rule currently was a PSC must be transmitted up to 15 days before the scheduled liquidation date. Typically entries liquidate 314 days after the entry date, however many of the Section 301 product exclusions that have been granted were done so after the 300-day time frame. Now when it's close to liquidation the importer can request that CBP extend liquidation for that entry, and a PSC would be accepted beyond the 300-day limit.

ADD on Refillable Stainless Steel Kegs From Mexico
The Department of Commerce issued a final determination in regards to the antidumping duty investigation (A-201-849). A final injury determination is currently scheduled for September 26th. Commerce is also looking at dumping orders for refillable stainless steel kegs from China and Germany. They have also declared critical circumstances after determining that there has been a surge of the refillable kegs being imported from Mexico. There was a surge of imports during the months before the preliminary determination of the investigation. This suspends the liquidation of subject merchandise to 90 days prior to the preliminary determination or March 6, 2019.

Customs Fees Increasing
CBP published a Federal Register notice stating the fees will increase starting October 1st, 2019. Notably, MPF's new maximum is now at $519.76.

For a roundup of tariff-related news, read our Tariff Insider.