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Amendment to February 5, 2025 Federal Register notice on China Tariffs and Official Annex of HTS Codes for Aluminum and Steel Published

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Please click the links below to read the full text of the Federal Register Documents:

• Amended Notice of Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of the People’s Republic of China Pursuant to the President’s February 1, 2025 Executive Order Imposing Duties To Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/12/2025-02576/amended-notice-of-implementation-of-additional-duties-on-products-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china
• Adjusting Imports of Steel Into the United States: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/18/2025-02833/adjusting-imports-of-steel-into-the-united-states
• Adjusting Imports of Aluminum Into the United States: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/18/2025-02832/adjusting-imports-of-aluminum-into-the-united-states

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Presidents Day –
Monday, February 17th, 2025 –
Conley Terminal Closed

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Please see the below message from the Port of Boston:

Good Morning Port of Boston Customers,

As a reminder, Conley Terminal will be closed on Monday, February 17th in observance of Presidents Day.

Please plan accordingly.

 Thank you for your continued support!

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Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of the People’s Republic of China Pursuant to the President’s February 1, 2025 Executive Order Imposing Duties To Address the Synthetic Opioid Supply Chain in the People’s Republic of China

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Published in the Federal Register, February 5, 2025

for full text of the law, see the below link:

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Latest On Tariffs, China, Canada, Mexico

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Below is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on February 5^th, These two are the unpublished versions, but unlikely to change by tomorrow.

CBP Unpublished Federal Register notices to implement tariffs on: China and Canada

Federal Register :: Public Inspection: Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of the People’s Republic of China

Federal Register :: Public Inspection: Implementation of Additional Duties on Products of Canada

Summary of Additional Duties

• Additional Duty goes into effect for goods entered into consumption after February 4, 12:01 EST. In-transit goods loaded as of February 1, 12:01 EST will not be subject to additional duties if entered into consumption by March 7, 12:01 EST.
• De Minimus Exemption removed for affected goods. Formal entry now required for all mail shipments regardless of value.
• No Duty Drawback allowed on the additional duties.

China

• There is no indication President Trump is scheduled to speak with President Xi. Absent an agreement, the additional tariffs will proceed.

Canada

• On February 3, 2025, President Trump and Prime Minister Trudeau have agreed to pause the anticipated tariff increases for one month for Canada to implement a $1.3 Billion border plan and a $200 million intelligence directive targeting organized crime and fentanyl.

Mexico

• On February 3, 2025, President Trump and President Sheinbaum of Mexico have agreed to pause the anticipated tariff increases for one month on the tentative agreement that Mexico will send 10,000 soldiers to the border to stop the flow of fentanyl and illegal immigrants into the United States.

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Trump agrees to pause tariffs on Canada and Mexico after they pledge to boost border enforcement

apnews.com

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday agreed to a 30-day pause on his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada as America’s two largest trading partners took steps to appease his concerns about border security and drug trafficking.

The pauses provide a cool-down period after a tumultuous few days that put North America on the cusp of a trade war that risked crushing economic growth, causing prices to soar and ending two of the United States’ most critical partnerships.

“I am very pleased with this initial outcome, and the Tariffs announced on Saturday will be paused for a 30 day period to see whether or not a final Economic deal with Canada can be structured,” Trump posted on social media. “FAIRNESS FOR ALL!”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted Monday afternoon on X that the pause would occur “while we work together,” saying that his government would name a fentanyl czar, list Mexican cartels as terrorist groups and launch a “Canada-U.S. Joint Strike Force to combat organized crime, fentanyl and money laundering.”

The pause followed a similar move with Mexico that allows for a period of negotiations over drug smuggling and illegal immigration. The 10% tariff that Trump ordered on China is still set to go into effect as scheduled on Tuesday, though Trump planned to talk with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the next few days.

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International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) Announce Tentative Agreement on New Six-Year Master Contract

from: ilaunion.org

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NORTH BERGEN/LYNDHURST, NJ (January 8, 2025) – The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) and United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) have reached tentative agreement on all items for a new six-year Master Contract. The two sides agreed to continue to operate under the current contract until the union can meet with its full Wage Scale Committee and schedule a ratification vote, and USMX members can ratify the terms of the final contract.

“We are pleased to announce that ILA and USMX have reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year ILA-USMX Master Contract, subject to ratification, thus averting any work stoppage on January 15, 2025,” the two sides said in a joint statement. “This agreement protects current ILA jobs and establishes a framework for implementing technologies that will create more jobs while modernizing East and Gulf coasts ports – making them safer and more efficient, and creating the capacity they need to keep our supply chains strong.

“This is a win-win agreement that creates ILA jobs, supports American consumers and businesses, and keeps the American economy the key hub of the global marketplace.”

Details of the new tentative agreement will not be released to allow ILA rank-and-file-members and USMX members to review and approve the final document.

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Happy Holidays From BOC!

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December 1, 2024, Lacey ACT Phase VII Declaration

from: aphis.usda.gov

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Phase VII of the Lacey Act provisions for certain imported plants and wood products began implementing on December 1, 2024. In this phase, Lacey Act declarations are required for all remaining plant products Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are not 100-percent composite materials.

Lacey Act declarations are now required on a wide array of imported products, including furniture, additional essential oils, sporting goods, housewares, tools, boats and vehicles, cork etc. Please see the below complete list of products.

View the full list of products included in Phase VII on our Implementation Schedule web page. 

Lacey Act proper use of Special Use Designations Special Use Designations | Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service example: Composite, Recycled, and Reclaimed Plant Materials

Tips for Importers

Here’s what you can do for Phase VII: 

1. Know your supply chain for each piece of plant material in the product. An imported product may include many different plant species. For example, furniture may include inlays of many species. Communicate with your suppliers to obtain plant information—the scientific name for each piece of plant product and where that plant was harvested.
2. Learn how to file a declaration. Familiarize yourself with the requirements and what information you need to file.
3. Get answers to your questions. For more specifics, check out our frequently asked questions.

Lacey Act Declaration Requirements Last Modified: October 23, 2024

You can review the information on this website: Lacey Act Declaration Requirements this lists the requirements for Common Products.

Do You Need a Declaration?

Yes

You do need to file a Lacey Act declaration if all of the following apply to your product or shipment:

• Contains plant material
• Classified under an APHIS-listed Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) code
• Imported as a formal entry
• Falls under one of these entry type codes

No

You do not need to file a Lacey Act declaration if at least one of the following applies to your product or shipment:

• Free of plant material
• Hand-carried in personal baggage or arrives via international mail
• Contains finished products not classified in an APHIS-listed HTS code, even if some materials used to create the product might otherwise require a declaration
• Imported as an informal entry
• Will not remain in the United States (in-bond movements and carnets)
• Meets the de minimis* requirement
• Is in one of these exempt products categories (unless it’s a protected product; then, it requires a declaration)
• Common Cultivars and Common Food Crops
• Scientific specimens for lab or field research only
• Plants that will remain planted or will be planted or replanted

*De Minimis Exception -Products containing a minimal, or “de minimis,” amount of plant material are excepted from the declaration requirement if: The plant material in the product represents no more than 5 percent of the total weight of the individual product unit, provided that the total weight of the plant material in an entry of products in the same 10-digit provision of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) of the United States does not exceed 2.9 kilograms. The exception does not apply if the product contains plant material listed: In an appendix to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (27 UST 1087; TIAS 8249); As an endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or Pursuant to any State law that provides for the conservation of species that are indigenous to the State and are threatened with extinction. More Information: April 2020 Final Rule—Lacey Act Implementation Plan: De Minimis Exception For products that meet the de minimis requirement, you can apply disclaimer code “G” to fulfill the Lacey message set requirements when filing import documents in CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment. Note: APHIS’ Lacey Act de minimis exception is not related to CBP’s de minimis exemption, which is based solely on a shipment’s value.

For help complying with the Lacey Act declaration requirement:

Lacey Act Team

Email: lacey.act.declaration@usda.gov

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Products included in Phase VII 

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Trump’s Tariff Threat to Top US Trading Partners Roils Markets

By Nancy Cook and Brian Platt Source: Bloomberg

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• President-elect cites flow of drugs, people across US borders
• Republican has vowed to tighten border security in second term

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President-elect Donald Trump vowed additional tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China, shaking markets with his first specific threats to the US’s top trading partners since his election win three weeks ago.

Trump said he would impose additional 10% tariffs on goods from China and 25% tariffs on all products from Mexico and Canada, in posts to his Truth Social network on Monday.

The US dollar staged a broad advance Tuesday, with the Mexican peso and the Canadian dollar among the worst performers. US Treasuries fell, with the yield on 10-year notes rising two basis points to 4.3%, partially reversing the reaction to Scott Bessent’s nomination last week as Treasury secretary, which weighed on the dollar and boosted US bonds amid optimism of a more measured approach to trade relations.

Trump’s market-moving threats were a stark reminder that he plans to wield tariff authority, or at least threaten to use it, as leverage against allies and adversaries alike. It’s another sign of his break from the international order where low tariffs are the goal and rules exist to discourage overreach of punitive trade actions.

In his Truth Social posts, Trump cast the new import taxes as necessary to clamp down on migrants and illegal drugs flowing across borders.

He accused China of failing to follow through on promises to institute the death penalty for traffickers of fentanyl, writing that “drugs are pouring into our Country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before.”

“Until such time as they stop, we will be charging China an additional 10% Tariff, above any additional Tariffs, on all of their many products coming into the United States of America,” Trump said.

In another post, the incoming president also vowed to hit Mexico and Canada with a 25% tariff on “ALL products,” saying he would sign an executive order to that effect on his first day in office.

“As everyone is aware, thousands of people are pouring through Mexico and Canada, bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before,” he said. “This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!”

Shortly after Trump’s post, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau contacted the president-elect and the two leaders had a phone call to discuss border security and trade, according to a government official with knowledge of the matter.

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Immigration Response

Trudeau pointed out to Trump that the number of migrants who cross the Canadian border into the US is minuscule compared to those who cross from Mexico, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Canada said it’s working closely with US law enforcement agencies every day to disrupt the “scourge of the fentanyl coming from China and other countries,” according to a statement by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc.

Liu Pengyu, spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the US, said economic and trade cooperation between both countries is mutually beneficial. “No one will win a trade war or a tariff war,” he wrote in an X post.

The Foreign Ministry in Beijing said in a statement Tuesday that China has provided support to America’s fight against fentanyl which is “US’s problem,” though it stopped short of mentioning any planned trade retaliation.

Representatives for the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry and Economy Ministry, as well as China’s Commerce Ministry, didn’t immediately respond to requests to comment. Spokespeople for Trump didn’t immediately answer a question about whether there would be exemptions from the duties.

UBS Global Wealth Management’s Kelvin Tay says the announcement of additional trade tariffs on China is not surprising. He adds that the next round of tariffs will “likely be more nuanced” as some Chinese exports to the US are hard to substitute.

Trump campaigned on pledges to implement sweeping tariffs, vowing to hike tariffs to 60% for all goods imported from China and as high as 20% for those brought in from the rest of the world — policies he says will help pressure companies to re-shore manufacturing jobs in the US and raise revenue for the federal government.

President Joe Biden has already hiked tariffs on a variety of Chinese imports this year, including semiconductors, solar cells and critical minerals, with rates ranging from 25% for batteries to 100% for electric vehicles. The move was the culmination of a review of Trump’s tariff increases in his first term — none of which were rolled back.

While it was unclear how Trump’s 10% tariff threat on China fit in with his previous statements calling for even higher duties, analysts saw this as an opening gambit aimed at the drug problem.

China’s Response

This “does not necessarily mean that Trump’s promised 60% tariffs on all Chinese imports are off the table,” said Neil Thomas, a fellow for Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute’s Center for China Analysis. “China will register its opposition and consider limited retaliation but is likely to respond cautiously at first to Trump’s threats, until it gets a better sense of the balance between confrontation and deal-making in his second term.”

While public health experts say fentanyl overdoses remain a major issue, provisional data released earlier this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed a 14% drop in drug overdose deaths from June 2023 to June 2024. President Biden hailed US-China cooperation on counter-narcotics this month during a meeting with counterpart Xi Jinping in Peru.

Higher North American tariffs would upend the auto industry and other consumer sectors, including food, in which the three countries are highly integrated.

Mexico’s auto sector is particularly exposed to a trade conflict with the US, along with factories that export electronics, plastics and other manufactured goods to US consumers. Mexico became the US’s largest trading partner as China’s import share declined in recent years. The Mexican government estimates there’s now $800 billion annually in total trade between the nations.

‘Stir the Debate’

The Canadian and US auto industries are so intertwined, and work on such thin profit margins, that a 25% tariff is “not a real conversation,” said Flavio Volpe, president of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, a Canadian industry group.

“The president-elect has done what he’s famous for, which is try to stir the debate. The only surprise is how early he’s done it,” Volpe said. “What we learned in the first term was he uses strong rhetoric, public rhetoric. But the negotiations are always tough, but reasonable — and I’m just telling everybody to be patient.”

Canada’s Exports to the US

Energy, motor vehicles and consumer goods account for 57% of exports
Source: Statistics Canada, Bloomberg calculations

A 25% tariff applied to all imports from Canada would put pressure on energy costs. Oil, gas and other energy products are Canada’s largest export to its southern neighbor; it’s by far the largest external supplier of crude to the US. Wilbur Ross, Trump’s former Commerce secretary, said earlier this month it would make no sense to place tariffs on Canadian energy.

The move on Mexico and Canada would reignite a trade feud that simmered across the continental bloc during Trump’s first term, where he forced a renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement and imposed tariffs on certain sectors, including steel.

Currently, the re-branded trade pact, known as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, allows for duty-free trade across a wide range of sectors.

It’s not clear what recourse American importers, who would pay the duties, would have under the pact to head off any levy.

Beyond Bessent, Trump still has a number of top economic roles to fill in his administration. One of the chief architects of Trump’s tariff agenda, former United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer has yet to land a role in the second term.

— With assistance from Constantine Courcoulas, Josh Wingrove, Matthew Burgess, Carolina Millan, Maya Averbuch, Colum Murphy, Jing Li, Josh Xiao, Philip Glamann, Cormac Mullen, and Derek Decloet

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