UPS acquired Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services (STTAS) on Nov. 30, UPS said in a Dec. 4 news release. STTAS, the consulting and trade compliance arm of the Sandler Travis law and lobbying firm, "will continue to provide its same services, from the same offices with use of the same personnel," STTAS said in a news release. It will also "continue to serve as a resource" for Sandler Travis "on joint client issues as it has in the past." Terms of the deal weren't disclosed.
Pennington P.A. recently merged with The Mooney Law Firm, Pennington said on its website. Pennington will take on Mooney's lawyers, Neil Mooney, Shannon Liang and Edward Recio, it said. The Mooney Law Firm "will continue in existence, but only to wind down certain far-along matters or represent a handful of clients having an annual retainer," Mooney said on the firm's website. Pennington has offices in Tallahassee, Miami and Tampa.
The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America will increase its membership dues by 5 percent for 2018, the NCBFAA said in an email to members. The rates are based on the number of employees for members and the maximum rates for regular members will increase to $5,873.05 in 2018, it said. The increase is due to the "need for advocacy over the last year and the rising costs associated to remain in a position in which we can address the challenges and opportunities within our industry," it said. The group's Board of Directors approved the increase earlier this year, the NCBFAA said.
UPS has joined the Blockchain in Trucking Alliance, a forum for development of blockchain technology standards and education for the freight industry, and is exploring applications in its customs brokerage business, UPS announced Nov. 7. The technology would help improve transaction accuracy and by replacing paper-heavy and manual processes, which should help all parties involved in the transactions, UPS said. “Blockchain, a digital database using blocks that are linked and secured by cryptography, can be used to keep record of any information or assets,” the company said. “This includes physical assets, like transportation containers, or virtual assets, like digital currencies.”
UPS is working for the insertion of new NAFTA language providing for trilateral cargo preclearance, streamlined truck transportation between the U.S. and Mexico, and increased customs information submission requirements for Canadian and Mexican state-owned parcel services, UPS Senior Vice President for International Public Affairs and Strategy Amgad Shehata said Oct. 26. During a Cato Institute NAFTA event, Shehata called for a broad move away from paper-based customs procedures, noting that NAFTA parties are all single-window countries equipped for greater customs digitization.
CV International, a Virginia-based freight forwarder and customs broker, “has completed the acquisition” of Waters Shipping Company, it said in a press release. Staff from Waters “will be joining the CVI team in a new CVI branch office in Wilmington, N.C.,” CVI said.
The Cold Finished Steel Bar Institute (CFSBI) on Sept. 13 added its name to the litany of individuals and organizations urging retaliation against dumped steel pursuant to the Trump administration’s ongoing Section 232 “national security” investigation into steel imports. In a letter to President Donald Trump, the organization encouraged “early action” to protect the U.S. steel industry’s ability to supply materials critical to U.S. national defense and infrastructure requirements. “Essentially any product that contains a motor or moving part contains one or more components made from cold finished steel bar,” wrote the organization’s chairman, William Geary. The group’s member companies produce materials vital to a “wide range” of defense applications, including attack helicopters, armored vehicles, guns, smart bombs, aircraft and ammunition, as well as materials for critical infrastructure applications including automobiles, bridge parts, oil and gas equipment, and wind turbines, CFSBI said.
The "strong divisions” on how to approach NAFTA between the deal’s three parties are increasing the possibility that a deal can’t be reached in the near term, and companies should start making contingency plans, said Russ Crawford, partner at KPMG in Canada, in a Sept. 18 press release. Businesses should put together a “Survival Guide” for the next six months to prepare for an “uncertain outcome,” Crawford recommended. Crawford is advising firms to become scenario planners if they are not already, and to develop contingency plans for any business and supply chains, should the U.S. withdraw from the deal, “however unlikely.” He added: “An example may be to have a back-up plan mapped out to the extent possible if there was an X percent increase in tariffs, or a Y percent change in regional (or even country specific) content.”
Amber Road added support for Partner Government Agency filing requirements within its trade management platform, the company said in a Sept. 13 news release. “Many countries are moving to the Single Window concept, which will require both accurate and real-time information to be presented to Customs at time of entry,” said Nathan Pieri, chief product officer for Amber Road. “This places an incredible burden on the importer related to the collection and maintenance of these compliance-related data elements; in fact, one of the PGAs requires over 450 validations. The Amber Road Import solution offers comprehensive master data management support for PGAs and can be implemented with any existing [enterprise resource planning] solution to help a supply chain team deal with the challenges of complying with the ever-changing ACE PGA initiative.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes “in the strongest possible terms” any U.S. withdrawal from the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Chamber CEO Tom Donohue said in a statement. Since KORUS entered into force in 2012, U.S. aerospace exports have doubled to total $8 billion, and agricultural exports have “soared” since double-digit tariffs have started to phase out. This “is why nearly every major U.S. agricultural group strongly supports the agreement,” Donohue said. “Ironically, states across mid-America that voted for the president would take the hit from withdrawal as their agricultural and manufactured goods exports fell in the wake of such a move.”