CBP's 2017 West Coast Trade Symposium...Don't Miss It!

UPDATE - CBP JUST ANNOUNCED TODAY that registration will OFFICIALLY open on Wednesday, March 22, 2017, 12:00 pm Eastern. Keep your eyes peeled for more information from CBP!

We always strive to keep you informed of the latest and greatest trade events. In this vain, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be hosting the 2017 West Coast Trade Symposium from May 24-25 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

More information about the event, including where to register, will be provided at a later date (and will be posted here). You can be sure we'll keep you in the loop as we hear more.

If you need reasons to attend (or to get your employer to foot the bill), check out these top 5 reasons.

Hate Unfair Demurrage Charges? Want to Do Something About it?

Now's the time to make your voice heard. Below details what demurrage charges are and a trade initiative that FMC is currently requesting comments on.

What is Demurrage?

• Demurrage is "a penalty charge against shippers for delaying a shipment/container at a port of loading or destination beyond the allowed free".

How Much Time is Provided for Free?

• "Free time is the grace period for which neither of these charges will be incurred." There is no standard amount of free time. Free time can change from carrier to carrier, from port to port and sometimes from container type to container type. Normally it is anywhere between 3-5 calendar days.
• Free time is supposed to include a realistic time period to assemble cargo for loading, and provide consignees a realistic time period to retrieve cargo at a terminal after unloading.
• The fee charged after the expiration of the "free time" varies. For example, for one carrier, the per diem fee can range anywhere between: $200 to $800 per day!

 What is Being Done to Change this Demurrage Fee?

• Back in December, "the Coalition for Fair Port Practices, a group of 25 members that represent shippers, receivers, motor carriers, port draymen, freight forwarders, third-party logistics companies and customs brokers", petitioned the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) in hopes that the FMC would issue a ruling on extending the free time for container storage and equipment use that is disrupted by events outside of their control. Such events could be poor infrastructure, weather events, a carrier bankruptcy, port labor issues, etc.

New Executive Order...Will Small Businesses Benefit?

On January 30th, the Office of the Press Secretary released the Executive Order (EO) on reducing federal regulations and controlling regulatory costs. This latest EO requires that all federal agencies "cut two existing regulations for every new regulation they implement". According to President Trump, this EO is meant to help small businesses by easing "the opening and expansion of small businesses" and the "incremental costs for the new regulations in 2017 will be zero dollars". The EO requires “for every one new regulation issued, at least two prior regulations be identified for elimination, and that the cost of planned regulations be prudently managed and controlled through a budgeting process.” There will also be "certain categories of regulations that will be exempt from this new policy, including those dealing with the military and national security".

Keep Your Eyes Peeled For The Single Export Licensing System!

Currently the U.S. government has three different agencies that have been given the authority to issue export licenses. Those three agencies are: the Departments of Commerce, State, and the Treasury. In 2009, President Obama ordered an interagency review of the current export control system. The review found that the current system was “overly complicated, contained too many redundancies, and, in trying to protect too much, diminished the ability to focus their efforts on the most critical national security priorities”. The review also found that many companies had to apply for multiple export licenses with each of the departments. Due to the findings of the review, the Administration created the Export Control Reform initiative to help establish a single export licensing system.

“The goal of the (ECR) initiative is to create a Single Licensing Agency (SLA), which would act as a ‘one stop shop’ for businesses seeking export license and for the US government to coordinate review of license applications.” The ultimate goal of this new licensing process would be to make the process predictable, timely, and transparent.