The Federal Maritime Commission has so far received mixed feedback on the possibility of new demurrage and detention billing requirements (see 2202070026), with shippers saying the rules are sorely needed and at least one carrier saying the industry shouldn’t face additional regulations.

The submission or completion of CBP and Department of Defense forms related to imports of household goods and personal effects constitutes "customs business" and requires any third-party filers to be licensed customs brokers, the agency said in September ruling that was recently released. The ruling came in response to an internal CBP information request from the Port of Baltimore on the requirements for the submission of CBP forms 3461, 7501, 3299, and DOD Form 1252.

After the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative agreed to reinstate 64% of expired Section 301 tariff exclusions (see 2203230070), business interests said it should go further, while the Coalition for a Prosperous America said the decision was wrongheaded.

A dozen trade groups sent Congress a letter saying changes to antidumping duty and countervailing duty laws, colloquially known as Leveling the Playing Field 2.0, shouldn't be part of the compromise between the respective House and Senate China packages. Though the legislation originated in the Senate, it was inserted into the House trade title of the America Competes Act.

Expect members of the Senate Commerce, Finance, Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs committees to be named as China bill conferees, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told reporters after a March 23 hearing.

The tariff rate quota arrangement that the U.S. offered the U.K. covers a higher volume of steel than the U.K. exported to the U.S. in 2018 and 2019, though those quotas also cover steel with EU country of origin that was melted and poured in the U.K.

The past two years have shown that global supply chains “are very vulnerable,” and especially vulnerable to “external shocks” like pandemics and war, Young Tae Kim, secretary-general of the International Transport Forum, told the World Trade Organization’s Global Supply Chains Forum March 21. “Some vulnerabilities are the result of internal factors as well,” he said.

The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative on March 23 announced the extension of 352 exclusions from Section 301 tariffs on China. The exclusions, all of which had expired, resume effect as of Oct. 12, 2021, and will remain in effect through Dec. 31, 2022, USTR said.

Private sector and government leaders from around the world talked about what their firms are doing and how the World Trade Organization could be a forum for creating smoother flowing supply chains.

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