customs clearance

This is a guest post by Jake Rheude. The final days of 2020 ended with some of China's highest container rates in recent memory coupled with port congestion, space demands, and other metrics [...]

For many, today couldn't get here quickly enough. At midnight tonight, we say goodbye to 2020 and hello to 2021, hoping for a better year. Traditionally, Universal Cargo has said goodbye to years [...]

The category of personal protective equipment (PPE) covers a broad range of goods and devices. It can refer to anything from gloves to protective clothing, face shields, surgical masks and [...]

The United States Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued rule changes to two sets of export laws and a proposal to change a third. The changes that are now final rules will go into effect  [...]

This blog is the publishing of a letter from Universal Cargo's house customs broker concerning the duty deferment for importers whose businesses are suffering from the COVID-19 pandemic. It [...]

President Trump signed an executive order on Friday, April 17th that includes a 90-day duty deferment on goods imported in March and April because of the COVID-19 crisis the country, along with [...]

Universal Cargo's house customs broker, INLT gave a great webinar outlining the U.S. requirements around importing pandemic supplies during this COVID-19 crisis. We thought what they shared would [...]

This is a guest post by Mary Walton Marijuana products have long been used for medical treatments. But marijuana is not legal in all countries, whereas some states made it legal. Because of [...]

Before 2020 hits, let's take a look back at 2019. What happened in international shipping this year didn't happen in a bubble. Just like events of years past affected this year, the things [...]

As 2019 draws to a close, a ton of things are happening in international shipping. You would think with the last three blogs getting into IMO 2020, Incoterm changes with Incoterms 2020, and the [...]

2020 is less than a month away, and it's not an exaggeration to say it will be one of the most eventful new years the international shipping industry has ever seen. First, IMO 2020 goes into [...]

Last week, one of our partners in Vietnam emailed Universal Cargo about the country's customs significantly increasing inspection "ratio on all cargo bound to the states." The change in procedure [...]

Last month, we finally saw

Last week, the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) issued more tariff exclusions on Chinese goods. Section 301 tariffs have obviously had a big impact on U.S. shippers who import from China. And [...]

This is a guest post by Ummul Fidha. Risk Management Picture — Nick Youngson CC BY-SA 3.0 Alpha Stock Images Businesses involved in international trade have to deal not just with risks [...]

There's good news for U.S. retailers and shippers who import from China, and probably U.S. consumers too, as they prepare for the 2019 holiday season. Many, many items from list 4 of the Section [...]

We finally have official exclusions from President Trump's tariff hikes on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. Find out below if the goods you import from China can be [...]

The world of Customs bonds can be extremely mystifying to the uninitiated. Nothing about

This is a guest post by Dave Gilbert. The United States imported over $3 trillion worth of goods in 2018 alone. Hundreds of thousands of businesses depend on foreign suppliers and producers [...]

U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) suspended MSC's Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) certification after a historic drug bust was made on a ship of the world's second [...]