This morning President-Elect Trump announced his long awaited pick for United States Trade Representative (“USTR”): Jamieson Greer. Mr. Greer is a familiar face, having served as the Chief of Staff to USTR Robert Lighthizer during the first Trump Administration. He is currently an attorney at the Washington D.C. law firm King & Spalding, where he handles a variety of trade-related […]
On November 25, 2024 President Elect Donald Trump promised an executive order on his first day in office which would impose a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada. He also heralded an additional 10% tariff above all other tariffs for China. The economic implications of this are significant, as the executive order would impose a tax […]
Warehouses are massive repositories of risk and are responsible for holding, in many cases, millions of dollars in property. Because of this huge responsibility, warehouses have the right to contractually limit liability for loss or damage, and to issue liens to protect themselves from unpaid storage bills. A common inquiry among NVOCCs, forwarders, and warehousemen alike, is whether or not […]
Change is on the horizon in the shipping industry, and it is important to make sure you are staying informed. Effective July 1st, 2016, changes adopted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regarding verified container weights will become effective. These changes were first introduced at the 2014 Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention, but it is now time for […]
On May 31, 2013 the Federal Maritime Commission (“FMC”) published proposed changes to the rules regulating Ocean Transportation Intermediaries (“OTI’s”) and Non-Vessel-Operating Common Carriers (“NVOCC’s”). The 60-day comment period ended on July 30, 2013 and the Final Publication is expected to be released sometime in December 2013 with the effective date sometime in February 2014. We have created an easy […]
We are constantly being asked by NVOCCs, forwarders and warehousemen whether they have a legitimate lien on the cargo in their possession, such that that they can hold the freight until being paid. The answers are not simple: you only have a lien on freight if it was a)given to you by the cargo owner; or b) given to you […]
The Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA) was enacted in 2002 by the second Bush administration. This trade preference agreement sought to grant four South American nations preferential treatment when exporting goods into the United States. With the purpose to promote economic development and eradicate drug trafficking, the agreement targeted four Andean countries, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. […]
CAN A FORWARDER INSURE A SHIPMENT AFTER A KNOWN LOSS? This question was addressed last week in the case of I.T.N. CONSOLIDATORS, INC. versus NORTHERN MARINE UNDERWRITERS LTD. [i] A cargo loss was made known to the forwarder ITN which promptly notified the insurance company writing its open policy. ITN subsequently issued a certificate of insurance to the cargo owner […]
On April 29, 2010, the Federal Maritime Commission published a proposed rulemaking to implement its February 18, 2010, decision to relieve licensed NVOCCs from the costs and burdens of tariff rate publication. The April 29 rulemaking promulgated new and amended regulations that, when given effect, will establish the criteria that must be adhered to by NVOCCs that seek to be […]
On March 23, 2010, Customs and Border Protection issued a notice of proposed rulemaking wherein the agency proposes to amend certain of the Regulation’s recordkeeping requirements. First, the proposed rulemaking would allow a broker to store his or her records at any location within the United States, so long as the recordkeeping contract identified in the broker’s permit application makes […]