USTR issued final action July 23 under Section 301, imposing tariffs on 60 economies for failing to impose and enforce a prohibition on imports produced with forced labor. The new duties took effect at 12:01 a.m. July 24, the same moment the temporary 10% Section 122 surcharge hit its 150-day statutory limit and expired. Rates land at 10% for 17 named economies including Canada, Mexico, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Cambodia and the United Kingdom, at 10% or 12.5% net of MFN for certain products of the EU, Taiwan, Japan, Korea and Switzerland, and at 12.5% for all other investigated economies. The action covers roughly 99% of US import value, though oil, gas and fertilizer are exempt, as are goods qualifying for duty-free treatment under USMCA. Cargo loaded on a vessel before Friday and entered for consumption before July 28 is not affected.

Read more at USTR

On July 20, the administration took three separate actions under Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930, imposing a 50% tariff on nearly $20 billion in imports from Canada across motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and dairy. USTR cited Canada removing US alcohol products from shelves, granting better dairy market access to the European Union, and capping US vehicle exports from companies reshoring production. The duties take effect thirty days from the announcement, putting the date around August 19. Section 338 permits duties of up to 50% to offset discrimination against US commerce, and this is a separate authority from the Section 301 and Section 232 programs already in place. If you move automotive, beverage or dairy freight across the northern border, you have a narrow window to reprice and reposition.

Read more at USTR

CBP’s interim final rule suspending the de minimis exemption for mail shipments and establishing a new postal informal entry process took effect July 24, with a compliance date of October 22 for certain provisions. Eligible filers are limited to the owner, purchaser or a licensed customs broker, and each filer must transmit a monthly spreadsheet with 10-digit HTSUS classifications and pay duties by the seventh day of the following month. A single transaction or continuous customs bond is required before a postal informal entry will be accepted or released. The process applies to mail shipments valued at $2,500 or less classifiable in HTSUS chapters 1 through 97. Public comments on the rule closed the same day it took effect.

Read more at the Federal Register

Transits of ships with no Iranian nexus fell to 25 during July 13 through 19, down from 108 the week before, while inbound traffic into the Middle East Gulf dropped to 8 vessels from 43. Total traffic is running roughly 90% below year-ago levels. War risk hull premiums, which sat at a fraction of one percent before the crisis began in February, have climbed to between three and ten percent of a vessel’s insured value. Multiple tankers were reported struck within a 24-hour window between July 19 and 20, including one near Oman that forced a crew evacuation. For shippers, the practical effect shows up in war risk surcharges, routing decisions and the fuel market rather than in container capacity directly.

Read more at gCaptain

The national average on-highway diesel price reached $5.13 per gallon as of July 20, up 33.8 cents from the prior week. That follows a 21.8-cent jump the week of July 13, putting the two-week move at roughly 55 cents from the July 6 low of $4.58. Renewed Hormuz disruption, Russia’s diesel export ban running July 8 through 31, and tight global refining margins are all pushing distillate prices higher. Every major region posted increases of 30 cents or more on the week. Fuel surcharge schedules peg to this benchmark, so the cost shows up in your invoices on a lag of days, not months.

Read more at EIA

The Panama Canal Authority lowered the maximum authorized draft at the Neopanamax locks to 49.0 feet tropical fresh water effective July 24, with a further reduction to 48.5 feet scheduled for August 15. That is the third cut in a month, following the drop to 49.5 feet that took effect July 3. The Authority framed the reductions as part of its water management strategy for Gatun Lake given forecasts for a strengthening El Nino across the watershed. Each half foot of draft translates to meaningful payload capacity coming off deep-draft container ships and bulkers. Transit demand is already elevated because Hormuz disruption has pushed additional traffic, particularly LNG vessels, toward the canal.

Read more at gCaptain