Hello and welcome to the Installment 6 of “Consolidated Regulatory and Supply Chain News”.
This update brought to us on a quarterly basis by RAF Solutions offers members of the EACC high level information on news that could affect the trans-ocean business of import and export to / from the U.S. This will mostly be organized by type of information (i.e. ocean freight, air freight, regulations on either side, etc) but there may be some crossover in sections since one new regulation could impact many areas. However, news moves so fast these days that this update will be presented as a combination of consolidated news items and links to relevant articles.
Tariffs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued Guidance on the revised reciprocal tariffs announced on July 31, 2025, and effective August 7, 2025. This provides new HTSUS Chapter 99 provisions and tariff rates for 70 countries plus all of the countries of the European Union.
The new provisions were effective at 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 7, 2025. A delayed effective date is established for goods in transit, meaning loaded onto a vessel at the port of loading and in transit on the final mode of transport prior to entry into the United States before 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 7, 2025, AND (2) entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. EDT on August 7, 2025, and before 12:01 a.m. EDT on October 5, 2025. Such goods remain subject to the 10% ad valorem reciprocal tariff under heading 9903.01.25.
Exemptions apply for goods of Canada and Mexico (both subject to duties under other IEEPA provisions), although a special Chapter 99 number is required to claim the exemption. Other exemptions include articles subject to Column 2 duty rates, certain donations, informational materials, and articles previously excluded under prior reciprocal tariff notices.
Articles actually paying duties under Section 232 (steel, aluminum, copper, and their derivatives; autos and light trucks and parts) are exempt, although any portion of such products that is excluded from Section 232 will be subject to the appropriate reciprocal tariff.
Articles in which at least 20% of the value is U.S.-originating are exempt from the reciprocal tariff on the U. S. value, although the remaining value of the article is subject to the reciprocal tariff. Strict reporting requirements apply.
Most articles making a proper claim for classification in a Chapter 98 provision are exempt, except for articles subject to the African Growth and Opportunity Act and the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, as well as articles classified in subheadings 9802.00.40, 9802.00.50, 9802.00.60, and 9802.00.80.
Entries filed under Temporary Import Bond provisions must report the appropriate reciprocal tariff number and bond for that amount.
A special rule is provided for articles from the European Union. Such articles having a Column 1 duty rate less than 15% are subject to a 15% reciprocal duty calculated so that the sum of the Column 1/General duty rate and the reciprocal tariff shall be 15 percent. Articles having a Column 1 duty rate 15% or more will be subject only to that rate, with a reciprocal tariff rate of 0%. For articles from all other countries, the reciprocal tariff is cumulative with any applicable Column 1 duty rate.
A special additional transshipment duty rate of 40% is established for any goods transshipped to evade applicable IEEPA Reciprocal duties. Any other applicable or appropriate fine or penalty, and any other duties, fees, taxes, extractions, or charges applicable to goods of the country of origin, may also be charged.
Goods of China, including Hong Kong and Macau, continue to be subject to the 10% reciprocal tariff under heading 9903.01.25 and not covered by this Guidance.
The Guidance includes instructions on the proper sequence for claiming and reporting all applicable HTSUS provisions.
The applicable tariff provisions and duty rates are set forth in Annex 1 and Annex 2 of the July 31 Executive Order.
Compliments: American Journal of Transportation
Tariffs Impact U.S. Trade and Supply Chains
Since April, tariff measures have slowed global air cargo growth to just 4% year-over-year, down from double-digit gains in late 2024. A brief surge in shipments from Southeast Asia to North America in early April, ahead of tariff deadlines, quickly reversed later that month.
The Trump administration’s reciprocal tariffs, effective August 7, range from 15% for countries like Japan and South Korea to 50% for nations such as Switzerland and Brazil. Tariffs on China remain at 30% and were extended another 90 days.
Business surveys show nearly half of U.S. companies plan to absorb some tariff costs, while 63% will raise consumer prices. Large retailers have mostly held prices steady so far. Import volumes are projected to decline sharply through November as companies front-loaded shipments to beat the August deadline.
Additional measures include:
- Semiconductors: Planned 100% tariffs pending a national security review.
- India: New 25% tariff on top of existing 25%, starting Aug. 27, with certain transit exemptions.
- Pharmaceuticals: Possible tariffs up to 250%, pending review.
- Other sectors under review: Critical minerals, aircraft, jet engines, and heavy truck parts.
The EU has postponed its counter-tariffs of up to 30% on U.S. goods for six months, delaying measures initially set for August 7.
U.S. trade statistics for full-year 2024 alongside the Trump administration’s planned tariff rates:
Air Freight News:
Heathrow Airport has revealed details of its plan to expand and modernize the airport at a cost of £49 billion ($65 billion). The CEO of Heathrow Airport said expansion was “urgent” as the airport was currently working at capacity, “to the detriment of trade and connectivity.” The work would be funded by private finance.
Heathrow officials estimate would be completed within a decade, including building a third runway, includes procuring the land, changing the M25 motorway that encircles Greater London. The government has backed plans for a third runway saying it would “make Britain the world’s best-connected place to do business.”
Potentially delaying the expansion are environmental groups, politicians, and locals opposed to the plan, including London’s mayor Sir Sadiq Khan saying the expansion would have a severe impact on noise, air pollution and meeting the city’s climate change targets.
Ending the De Minimus Exemptions:
The end of de minimis exemptions for low-value shipments ($800 and less) to the U.S. from China could dramatically disrupt e-commerce volumes that have long-fueled the global air freight market. Freight market data shows e-commerce accounts for roughly half of all air cargo shipments between China and the U.S., as well as 6% of global volumes. With the U.S. ending de minimis for China on May 2, those volumes are growing and expected to continue. Chinese e-commerce giant Temu had been taking advantage of de minimis exemptions to ship millions of packages into the U.S. each day but has halted the sale of all goods shipped from China to U.S. customers.
The end of the de minimis rule, combined with the new tariffs, is having a marked effect on consumer shopping habits, according to two surveys conducted by the industry.
Rail News:
- B. Hunt Transport Services Inc., BNSF Railway(BNSF) and GMXT, the largest rail provider in Mexico have together launched a new intermodal service for Mexico-based businesses — Quantum de México. This follows J.B. Hunt and BNSF in November 2023 establishing this design to transport sensitive highway freight using rail. Accordingly, they state the service is optimized for efficiency, offering a 95+% on-time delivery rate that’s up to one day faster than traditional intermodal service.
- Union Pacific(UP) says it has reached an agreement to acquire Norfolk Southern for $85 billion, in a merger that would create the first coast-to-coast rail network in the United States. After merging, UP and Norfolk Southern would have more than 50,000 employees, 80% of whom belong to unions. The Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen issued a statement expressing concerns over the potential fallout from combining the two railroads, warning that staffing cuts and a rushed integration process. However, In UP’s release announcing the merger, they vowed to ensure that all union employees for both railroads will have jobs once the merger is complete.
Trucking News:
- The U.S. trucking industry has faced a persistent labor shortage for years, a problem now intensified by a new Trump administration directive issued in May. The policy, effective June 25, requires removing commercial drivers who are not proficient in English from service.
English language proficiency (ELP) rules have existed since the 1970s, but the Obama administration relaxed them in 2016, allowing interpreters, translation apps, cue cards, and other aids. The new directive reverses those changes, banning language aids during roadside inspections or traffic stops.
Under the updated rules, safety inspectors and law enforcement must initiate inspections in English. If they believe a driver does not fully understand instructions, they conduct an ELP assessment. Drivers who fail are pulled from service until the issue is resolved.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, in 2023 nearly 4% of licensed commercial drivers—about 140,000 of the nation’s 3.5 million truckers—had limited English proficiency. Immigrants, who make up nearly 16% of CDL holders, could be disproportionately affected, especially in light of the administration’s stricter deportation policies.
- Beware of Fraudulent Contacts.
Reports released for Highway Q2 2025 Freight Fraud Index, reporting a significant rise in fraud attempts targeting freight brokers and carrier networks. The index reveals that in Q2, Highway flagged and blocked:
– 495,267 fraudulent email attempts
– 42,421 suspicious phone numbers
– 2,281 identity alerts
Compared to Q1 2025, fraudulent email attempts increased by 41%, and broker-reported identity fraud rose by 23%. These findings also reflect broader national trends. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NCIB) recently reported a 27% year-over-year increase in U.S. cargo theft, with identity manipulation, email compromises, and phone-based identity fraud among the top tactics used by fraud rings
Ocean News:
- Maritime carbon footprint emissions fell by 4.5% year-over-year in the second quarter of 2025, despite an 8% increase in the global fleet size.
Although Q2 emissions were down compared to the same quarter in 2024, total emissions in the first six months of 2025 actually increased by nearly a 1%, thanks in large part to a 16% jump in January, when the number of total trips rose by more than 13%, during a cargo increase by businesses looking to get ahead of planned tariffs.
- Tougher U.S. trade penalties on goods originating in one country being re-shipped from another are not expected to immediately follow new U.S. tariffs, teasing a major cause of concern. Southeast Asian countries have been explicitly targeted for their alleged role in facilitating the so-called transshipment to America of Chinese goods, which would face higher tariffs if shipped directly from China.
The administration imposed tariffs on goods from dozens of countries on Thursday, and in an executive order, said products determined to have been illegally rerouted to conceal their country of origin would face additional duties of 40%. But it did not clarify what constitutes transshipment.
Union News:
The Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) has voted to reject final contract proposals from Canada Post (CP), with the union calling on its employers to return to the bargaining table. The latest offer from CP in early August was presented as the “best and final” offer. CUPW overwhelmingly rejected this offer. No announcements from either CUPW or CP has been announced.
CP has lost money in the multi-billion CAN$ for several of recent past years and have said they cannot afford any further wage or benefit increases without significant infusion of funding from the government.
Compliments