Flexport

Webinar 📅 | 8 September at 16:00 CEST / 15:00 BST Join Flexport's Jannik Amstutz, Arno Hausch and Ruben Bel for our European Freight Market Update Live webinar. They'll cover how to navigate bookings through the upcoming Golden Week plus the latest on Suez transits and Q4 bunker prices; whether we're headed for an air freight peak this year and where jet fuel prices are going; and what's next on EUDR, CBAM and the Free Trade Agreements currently in negotiation. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/dcmyWgXN

This week in global logistics: Canada's dollar-for-dollar retaliation on $20 billion of U.S. exports takes effect Sept. 8, CBP's Section 338 guidance bulletin is corrected after errors, the IEEPA refund pipeline tops $130 billion while CAPE's next phase stays stalled, TPEB rates hit a four-year high, and Middle East transshipment congestion spreads to new ports. 🇨🇦 Canada's Retaliation: Canada will match the 50% Section 338 tariffs with duties on $20 billion of U.S. exports across 874 tariff lines effective Sept. 8, doubling duties on American steel and aluminum to 50% and adding 15% to 50% on other goods. Importers moving cargo either direction should reassess landed costs now. ⚠️ Section 338 Guidance Corrected: CBP's initial implementation bulletin contained errors, including an incorrect drawback code range and an outdated Section 122 stacking reference; CBP has since corrected the guidance. ⚖️ IEEPA Refunds Top $130 Billion: CBP has accepted roughly $132.5 billion in potential and certified refunds as of Aug. 21, but CAPE's third phase, meant to expand eligibility, remains stalled with no new launch date. 🚂 Export Manifest Rule: CBP finalized a rule requiring rail carriers to transmit export manifest data electronically through ACE for any train departing the U.S. 🚢 Ocean: North American trade lane rates hit a four-year high Aug. 19 as Panama Canal draft restrictions tighten; the canal cuts daily transit slots starting Sept. 3, with a further cut Sept. 15. TPEB: East Coast rates are outperforming the West Coast as congestion at Shanghai, Ningbo, and Zhoushan ties up capacity. FEWB: spot rates have eased about 20% from their July peak but remain 60% above spring levels. TAWB: blank sailing bookings run near 11% as carriers push new September peak season surcharges. ISC: Middle East transshipment congestion has spread beyond Jeddah to Khor Fakkan, Fujairah, and Sohar, with waits topping a week at some terminals. ✈️ Air: North China U.S. West Coast demand softened again on ecommerce cancellations, while South China saw a modest rate bump from an AOG-driven backlog. Read the full Aug. 27 Global Logistics Update: https://lnkd.in/gDgfwqVS #supplychain #logistics #freightmarket #freightindustry #oceanfreight #oceancargo #oceanshipping #airfreight #aircargo #airshipping #trucking #intermodal #railfreight

Looking for the latest trade lane updates? On September 10, join Flexport experts at our next North America Freight Market Update Live webinar. We’ll cover the latest on North America operations, ports, and labor; the Trans-Pacific Eastbound (TPEB); and the air freight market. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/grU7tm-m

CBP has delayed the launch of CAPE phase three. Filing was set to open August 20, but CBP found during final testing that duties weren't calculated correctly, and there's no new launch date yet. Phase three is limited to the roughly 3,700 importers who filed a civil suit and received import-specific relief under Judge Eaton's mid-July order. Watch Jennifer Park, Flexport's Trade Advisory Director, break down the status on CAPE phase three ⬇️ Check out the full August 19th "Tariff Trends" webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gtrU5wH9

A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier just paid $4.6 million to skip the line at the Panama Canal. That fee is about to get more expensive. Starting September 3, the Panama Canal Authority is capping daily transits at 34, down from 35. On September 15, it drops again to 32. The reason isn't a queue problem. It's rain. This hydrological year, the watershed has taken in 34% less rain than it should have, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) puts the odds of a Super El Niño by year end at close to 70%. If your goods route through the canal on Asia to US East Coast lanes, or anywhere on the Latin America trades, your Q4 transit times and slot costs are both about to move. The ships getting priority under the new auction rules are also the ones losing draft, so winning a slot won't mean moving the cargo you planned to move. Rebuild your transit assumptions before you promise a retail partner an arrival date. Price your West Coast alternative now, while it's still a choice and not a scramble. Flexport broke down what's changing, why the water data forced the call, and what to do about it before the caps hit: https://lnkd.in/grashkdR Is your Q4 plan still running on spring transit times? #SupplyChain #PanamaCanal

Starting September 19, U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin voiding importer of record numbers that were registered incorrectly, disallowing companies from importing until the issue is fixed. One trigger could be listing a PO box as your principal place of business instead of a physical address. CBP is also flagging missing phone numbers, names, or emails on file, and cases where a broker's contact information is used instead of the importer's own. Watch Marcus Eeman, Customs Director at Flexport, break down what CBP is targeting and how to check your registration before the deadline ⬇️ Check out the full August 19 “Tariff Trends" webinar here: https://lnkd.in/gtrU5wH9

This is not a joke, but it kind of sounds like one... What is deployed on a Wednesday, announced on a Friday afternoon, and gets removed on a Tuesday that shouldn't have been deployed at all? You guessed it; the exclusion of drawback on 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟬𝟭 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹 and 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟬𝟭 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀. When the Notice of Action regarding Brazil's digital trade tariffs was posted to the Federal Register, there was absolutely no mention that drawback was ineligible, and so, when CBP deployed updates to the ACE validations that blocked drawback for these exact HTSUS classifications on August 12, 2026 (announced in CSMS on 8/14), like so many others, I was genuinely shocked. Thankfully, CBP issued a correction this morning via 𝗖𝗦𝗠𝗦 # 𝟲𝟵𝟱𝟲𝟳𝟮𝟬𝟯. Here are the HTS numbers that ARE indeed eligible for drawback: 1️⃣ 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟬𝟭 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: HTSUS 9903.05.01 2️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟯𝟬𝟭 𝗗𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀: HTSUS 9903.05.20-9903.05.84  If your company is paying these tariffs and you're exporting from the US and/or destroying within the US, you probably should actively be exploring whether drawback is right for you. For those of you who already have a program in place, let’s meet. Is your current setup intentionally designed with what is necessary to optimize your recoveries and navigate the chaotic, on-and-off-again realities of these tariffs? If your program runs on a legacy system that looks like it belongs at the DMV 🦥, it's time to re-evaluate your program; good enough is 𝗡𝗢𝗧 good enough in 2026. #ImportExportDrawback #TradeCompliance #Drawback #Section301 #Tariffs #GlobalTrade #ACE

[LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER] Tomorrow, August 19, join Flexport’s Director of Customs Marcus Eeman and Director of Trade Advisory Jennifer Park for a webinar on the latest U.S. tariff developments. We’ll cover Section 338 and Section 232, along with the insights you need to navigate customs clearance and ensure accurate import filings. Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gFGQi26s

CBP has started telling brokers how to vet foreign importers, and the list is longer than most importers expect. Executive Order 14411 will require foreign importers of record to join the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) program or file through a CTPAT-validated broker. We laid out what your broker will ask you for and how to prepare: https://lnkd.in/d6pTftet

This week in global logistics: the Senate passes a bill allowing tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas with a House vote pending, new Section 232 minimum-price tariffs on polysilicon take effect Dec. 4, the government objects to a blanket IEEPA refund order while letting narrower ones stand, Typhoon Dolphin shuts down China ports and disrupts TPEB and FEWB schedules, and record-low Rhine River water levels force cargo onto rail and road. 🌐 Senate Passes Russia Oil Tariff Bill: The Senate passed legislation letting the president impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries buying Russian oil and gas, stacking on top of existing Section 301 and Section 232 duties. The House still needs to act when it returns from recess Aug. 31. Major buyers like India, China, Turkey, and the EU could all face the additional tariffs, a broader reach than the last time this authority was used under IEEPA, which targeted India alone. ⚙️ Section 232 Polysilicon Tariffs: New minimum-import-price tariffs on polysilicon and its derivatives take effect Dec. 4, charging duty on the gap whenever a shipment sells below floors as low as $21/kg for raw silicon up to $100/kg for wafers and ingots. Importers can start modeling exposure now in the Flexport Tariff Simulator ahead of the effective date. ⚖️ IEEPA Refund Order Narrowed: The government is contesting the CIT's blanket order refunding IEEPA duties to every affected importer with finally liquidated entries, but won't challenge the narrower orders benefiting only the named plaintiffs. Importers who haven't filed their own refund claim shouldn't assume this ruling covers them automatically. 🌪️ Typhoon Dolphin and Rhine Drought Squeeze Ocean Capacity: Typhoon Dolphin shut down China ports last week, disrupting both TPEB and FEWB schedules and adding to yard congestion carriers are still clearing. Separately, record-low Rhine River water levels are limiting barge navigation through bottlenecks like the Kaub, pushing container volumes onto already-strained European rail and road networks. 🚢 Ocean: -TPEB: rates have climbed since Aug. 1, with Asia-to-U.S. East Coast rates now at their highest level this year; book early and build buffer into cargo-ready dates out of Shanghai and Ningbo. -TAWB: blank sailings jumped to 12.7% from 0% as carriers scale back sailings to match softer summer demand rather than let rates slide. -ISC: India-to-U.S. East Coast rates have hit their highest level in more than two years amid a trailer and driver shortage limiting container evacuation at Nhava Sheva. ✈️ Air: Typhoon Dolphin grounded and delayed flights out of Shanghai Pudong, tightening TPEB air capacity. China-to-Europe rates have fallen for a sixth straight week as the EU's ecommerce rule changes cool demand, while carriers shift freighter capacity toward AI-hardware and data-center cargo on other lanes. Read the full GLU: https://lnkd.in/gQxJVwgk