The government shutdown began on Saturday at 12:01am. Here is a list of several agencies involved in trade and transportation issues that will be affected.
International Trade Commission
The International Trade Commission will only have three to seven individuals working during the shutdown in order to protect life and property. The six Commissioners are presidential appointees and therefore are exempt from the furlough.
On January 17, 2018, the American Line Pipe Producers Association filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of Large Diameter Welded Pipe from Canada, Greece, India, the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, and the Republic of Turkey.
President Donald Trump has announced that he will approve certain sanctions waivers necessary in order to preserve the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA). In an official statement, the President indicated that this is the last such waiver he will issue and warned that “the United States will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal.”
President Trump called on Congress to enact legislation addressing Iran and stated that the legislation should include the following critical components:
On Thursday, January 11, the U.S. Department of Commerce formally submitted to the President the results of its investigation into the effect of steel mill product imports on U.S. National Security. The President now has 90 days to decide on any action on steel imports.
On December 27, 2017, Berwick Offray, LLC filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping and countervailing duties on imports of Certain Plastic Decorative Ribbon from China.
On November 30, 2017, PMP Fermentation Products, Inc. filed a petition for the imposition of antidumping duties and countervailing duties on imports of sodium gluconate, gluconic acid, and derivative products from the People’s Republic of China and France.
The U.S. Department of Commerce self-initiated trade cases for the first time since 1991 on Tuesday, November 28, on Chinese common alloy aluminum sheet. While Commerce normally opens antidumping and countervailing duty investigations only after requests from the domestic industry, the agency is authorized to self-initiate cases. Commerce last exercised this power for a countervailing duty case in 1991 and for an antidumping case in 1985.
Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement on Tuesday, “President Trump made it clear from day one that unfair trade practices will not be tolerated under this administration, and today, we take one more step in fulfilling that promise. We are self-initiating the first trade case in over a quarter century, showing once again that we stand in constant vigilance in support of free, fair and reciprocal trade.”
Non-vessel operating common carriers (NVOCCs) are often vulnerable to importer/exporter debtors when they declare bankruptcy. As brick and mortar retailers continue to face dwindling market share due to the dramatic rise in online shopping – $1.25 billion per day in online consumer purchases in the U.S., and doubling every five years – risks to NVOCCs rise. Retail Dive’s running list of 2017 retail apocalypse victims is a comprehensive tally of retailers who have succumbed to financial pressures already this year. They also recently listed twelve additional prominent retailers possibly on the brink of bankruptcy.
The fifth round of NAFTA talks ended last week in Mexico City, making limited headway on the renegotiations.
During the round, the parties made progress on certain technical issues of the trade agreement, including digital trade, telecommunications, anti-corruption, and customs procedures.
On November 8, the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) issued a Notice for Proposed Rulemaking regarding modifications to NVOCC Service Arrangements (NSAs) and Negotiated Rate Arrangements (NRAs).
NSAs:
NSAs will continue to serve as basic agreements between NVOCCS and their customers for comprehensive longer-termed ocean transport agreements with provisions similar to those included in ocean carrier service contracts, with two basic differences:
