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This month, the International Pet and Animal Transport Association, or IPATA, held their 40th annual conference in Chicago. The event brings together airlines, forwarders and vendors whose collective hard work ensures the safe transport of pets and animals by air around the world. To learn what was discussed and the role that Coppersmith played at the conference, click the button below.
West Coast imports down year on year as December 15th List 4b looms
The Wall Street Journal reports on the current state of containerized imports into Los Angeles and Long Beach with an alarming 14.1% year on year decrease from 2018 to 2019. Some of that volume has shifted directly to East Coast calls as lines are looking to carry goods as close to the destination as possible without yielding transit time or revenue to railroads. 

The WSJ further reports that Panjiva, a data mining platform, shows that US imports from China fell 18.9% last month, while shipments from Vietnam are up 22.4% from a year ago.
AD/CVD collections down - a warning for importers
CBP and the Commerce Department have seen antidumping and countervailing duty collections fall short according to a GAO report that analyzed data from 2001 to 2018. The uncollected amount over the past three years has increased from $2.3 billion to $4.5 billion and the number of uncollected bills jumped from 41,000 uncollected bills in August, 2016 to 65,000 as of May, 2019. 

This large amount of uncollected money places pressure on both the agency and the sureties who write the continuous bonds and for legitimate importers struggling with Section 301 and Section 232 duties for trade remedies, plus the usual assortment of AD/CVD claims filed by domestic industries. The cautionary warning is that if your company imports goods that are subject to an AD/CVD action, have a plan to ensure they are paid and tracked until final liquidation.
US / China tariff war updates
We are only several weeks away from the December 15th deadline that will see the imposition of Section 301 duties on the so-called List 4b. This list contains many consumer electronics, sporting goods and other imports that could and would directly hit an importer’s bottom line and a consumer’s wallet.

So what is the latest in the US / China trade war?


At Coppersmith, we are continually monitoring the state of trade and have established a page on our website covering all of the news grouped by list. Use the button below to bookmark it and visit for the latest information.
Importers and exporters are aware of the requirements governing the use of solid wood packing materials (SWPM). The rules are meant to prevent the spread of pests from one country to another that could cause irreparable damage to agriculture or forestry. CBP has recently published mitigation guidelines under which they will review and assess penalties for wood packing violations.

Essentially, the agency has announced an up to “three strikes” policy where they determine the outcome. It is important to point out that while the agency is willing to give up to three strikes, the mitigation amounts increase with each subsequent violation and the agency reserves the right to refuse mitigation if there is a documented history of ongoing violations.
Importers are seeking a number of ways to mitigate duty increases from trade remedies or the removal of GSP benefits from select countries. One such vehicle is through requesting that a product be exempt from duty using a process called the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill, or MTB.

This omnibus piece of legislation which is passed by Congress is intended to allow importers of products which are not available domestically to request duty-free or reduced duty treatment of an import. The relief is only for the ad valorem duties published in the HTS and not Section 232 or 301 duties. The International Trade Commission has set up a portal through which requests can be filed no later than 5:15 EST on December 10th. 
From all of us at Coppersmith, we wish you a very happy and healthy and safe Thanksgiving with family and friends. Our offices are closed on Thursday and Friday in observance of the holiday. We remind and encourage our customers to please get us documents for pre-departure filings or requests for pet clearances as early as possible. Limited overtime services will be available with prior notice to your local branch office.
Economists, importers and exporters are all looking for small signs of progress as trade negotiations continue between the US and China. There are hopes that a recently change by the Chinese to allow the importation of American poultry for the first time in four years. According to the AJOT, at its peak the annual value of poultry exports from the U.S. to China was $71 million for turkey and $722 million for chicken.
Next month in Los Angeles, Lew Coppersmith is going to be honored at the Foreign Trade Association’s 100th anniversary celebration lunch on Thursday, December 5th. Lew Coppersmith and his mother are the founders of today’s modern-day Coppersmith Global Logistics which last year celebrated seventy years in business. If you’re in Los Angeles and want to attend, click here for more information on the event which is being held in downtown Los Angeles at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.