Varying Cargo Volumes
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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused havoc across the globe. Importers and exporters are scrambling as some industries are booming while others are really struggling. It has been a mixed bag in terms of cargo volumes received last month. In May of 2020 the Port of Oakland and the Port of Los Angeles reported significant drops in cargo volumes while the Port of Long Beach reported significant growth. Oakland reported this month that the loaded box volume is projected to continue to decline as it did last month. Los Angeles moved 29.8% less in May than it did a year ago. To date, overall cargo volumes have decreased 18.7% compared to last year’s numbers. Keep in mind that May 2019 set a pretty high bar as it was the busiest month in the Port of Los Angeles’ 114-year history. The decline seems really drastic for the month of May but this is in large part because of the great month they had a year ago. In turn, the Port of Long Beach has received a shift of some services from the Port of Los Angeles and they have seen a 10% increase in their normal business traffic. The Port of Long Beach moved 628,205 TEUs last month which is a 9.5% increase from May 2019. Imports grew 7.6% to 312,590 TEUs while exports increased 11.6% to 134,556 TEUs. Though the Port of Long Beach has seen impactful growth Los Angeles’ Port Executive Director Gene Seroka says that, “any notion of economic recovery in the shipping industry is a little bit too early to discuss.” Overall, this year the cargo statistics show a 7.8% decrease compared to the same time period just a year ago. Until we see consistent growth in the majority of Ports, we cannot assume that the U.S. economy is beginning to recover.
Take Your Business Global
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Doing business with international companies is a very daunting yet rewarding task, if done correctly. If you are in the import and export industry looking for ways to improve the way you trade across borders, here are three tips from our experts at DutyCalc.
For more tips or more information about DutyCalc, visit our website or contact us directly! We look forward to doing business with you!
Understanding Risks
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Entering the global marketplace is a challenge that requires education, experience, and a driven mindset. Along with these qualities you must understand that this industry comes with risks that could lead to significant repercussions. Before entering the international marketplace, understand these risks and how to avoid them.
One risk that import and export businesses face is unpredictable shipping logistics. When its all said and done, your business success is dependent on whether you can ship goods safely and efficiently. You need to make sure that your product gets from point A to point B on time. You need to account for everything that could possibly go wrong from an employee calling in sick to damage to the cargo. The best way to mitigate this risk is to stay organized, be prepared, and partner with a reliable freight forwarder that will help you ship your goods without a hitch.
Another risk that import and export businesses face is not knowing enough about the current market. For example, did you know that exports contracted 6% last month which narrowed the trade deficit to $13.45 billion? Did you know that this was the second time that exports contracted in the current fiscal year? If not, you need to do more research on the current market. With the trade war causing changes to the global marketplace daily, it is important to consider those changes before you decide to enter the industry.
The last risk that import and export businesses face is running into problems at the border. Customs is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, hurdle that importers and exporters have to face. Customs rules are not uniform throughout the world. To avoid significant slowdowns at international customs, again, do your research or hire experts in customs law and trade compliance to help you navigate this area of the business.
Bottom line is that the import and export business is one with opportunity but is also one that comes with risks. To find success in this industry understand all of the risks, stay organized, prepare for the worst, and know how to handle logistics. If you have all of these qualities, you will be that much closer to finding success in the import and export industry.
Starting Your Import Export Business
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Starting your own business is hard. Starting your own import/export business is even harder. There is much more to understand and things can go really bad really fast if you are not careful. That being said, if you have the experience, education, grit, and drive to take on this industry you can be successful. If you are looking to get into the import/export industry by starting your own business here are a few pointers that we recommend you follow.
You need a strong online presence. Without an online presence you will not be able to have a networked import/export business. The goal of this is to balance the flow of communications, sell products online, and most importantly build your customer base to drive profits for your international business. Having a professional blog on your website will allow you to have a continuous flow of engaging communications with your clients, something that most customers want in brand new companies.
Along with an online presence you need to find out what you want to sell. This includes understanding which markets are good to enter. We recommend that you find a product or industry that you are passionate about and that you think could sell in international markets. Looking for which markets to enter is where your trend-spotting skills come in to play. In general, the best products are ones that are just starting to become popular or show some promise to being so in the future. Do your research and think before you begin because finding the right product and the right market is probably the biggest decision you will make.
When you have your online presence and product/industry decided, focus on your logistics. Logistics is the most complex aspect of importing and exporting. Think about it, you have to take a product created somewhere and sell it somewhere else. For example, how do the grapes from the vineyard in South Africa make it to the wine glasses of drinkers in California? Every successful business has a strong logistics team, plan, and strategy that makes the flow very easy for all employees. When you get your logistics down to a science, you will be ready to hit the ground running.
Building a strong online presence, figuring out what to sell and where, and getting logistics down is all very important in this industry. However, these are only three of the many aspects that make a successful import/export business. Bottom line is that this industry is a complex system that requires nothing but hard work and determination.
For more recommendations or for more general information on the import/export industry give us a call or browse our website.
Partner with DutyCalc
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When it comes to dealing with money, it is important to work with reliable and trustworthy partners. Whether you’re running a small business or a Fortune 500 company, you don’t want to run the risk of losing money because of a bad partnership. Good financial partnerships are critical especially for companies in the import/export industry because of all the details regarding drawback. If you and your business are in the import/export industry and in need of a dependable partner to help with drawback, look no further than DutyCalc. Here are 3 of the most important factors that make DutyCalc the best partners for importers and exporters.
DutyCalc has experience. Collectively, the DutyCalc team has over 4 decades of experience in duty drawback. Part of DutyCalc’s experience in duty drawback has come from partnerships with some of the biggest companies you can think of. Companies like FedEx, Fender, and TaylorMade are all current or previous clients of DutyCalc. We understand how to manage duty drawback for large companies, and we understand all of the necessary steps in the process based on our experience. Put your trust in us as we have the knowledge of how to be successful.
DutyCalc has a proven track record. Whether it was the full service drawback or the software system, Drawback.NET, we have helped clients from around the country claim drawback without fail. We help clients claim up to 99% of duty drawback! DutyCalc systems are efficient and cut down processing times significantly. Our process works and will be worth the investment. Refer to our Testimonials to see our successful track record with our clients.
Last but not least, partner with DutyCalc because we always put customers first. Providing the best customer service is our number one goal so, as a client, understand that your needs come first. If you don’t understand part of the drawback process, we’ll walk you through every step. If you’re running into technical problems with Drawback.NET, call our support team and they won’t hang up until your problem is fixed. Happy customers are what drives our business, so making them happy is our number one priority. By partnering with DutyCalc, you and your needs will always come first.
For those in the import/export industry, partner with DutyCalc as we are partners that you can rely on and trust. We have experience with some of the largest companies on Earth, we have a proven track record, and you will always get great customer service. For more information on what DutyCalc has to offer, give us a call! We look forward to working with you.
Drawback NET
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Drawback.NET If you run your own company, from the beginning, one of your goals was probably to mitigate as many costs as possible. Any successful company will have low costs and high profits, right? If you are in the import/export industry, one way to accomplish this objective, one that is often overlooked, is through duty drawback. Duty drawback provides a way to offset duties that are paid with refunds. To keep it simple, drawback is a refund of Customs duties that is paid on imported materials that are either exported or used in the manufacture of exported articles, according to American Shipper. With appropriate documentation, guidance, and filing system, you can claim up to 99% of duties paid. This is where DutyCalc comes into play.
DutyCalc has been helping companies across the country mitigate costs by helping them properly file for drawback on all of their duties. DutyCalc’s most popular product is their drawback software, called Drawback.NET. This software allows businesses to file drawback for their company by themselves. The software is user friendly and current customers have given nothing but positive feedback. DutyCalc’s goal with this software is to allow customers to have full knowledge and control of filing their duties without having to pay for a full service drawback solution. By purchasing this software, you will also be signing up for a partnership with DutyCalc. This meaning that although Drawback.NET is a self-operating software, the DutyCalc team will always be available to answer any questions or help you navigate through the software at any point in time.
Due to the recent changes in the trade war, DutyCalc has been an essential tool in the import/export industry. Filing for drawback has skyrocketed and Drawback.NET has seen great success. DutyCalc is here for you and your company to ensure that your money is claimed in full. Don’t wait any longer as our software will only benefit your company.
For more information visit our website or give us a call. Work with us to get your money back!
Stalled Agreement
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Where the U.S. and China stand in the trade war is currently unknown. There were Washington
insiders claiming that a trade war deal was around the corner, all to find out that the deadline has
been pushed back. Last month Chinese officials proposed a push back of 90 days on increased
tariffs on Chinese imports. Though China is showing tremendous respect and actively trying to
come to an agreement with the U.S., a 60 day push back is all the U.S. granted. The two
presidents were scheduled to hold a meeting before the initial March deadline in Florida, both
parties hoping to strike a deal. This meeting never happened. Though we do not currently know
where both countries are in the process of coming to an agreement, we can be certain of one
thing: both countries still do no see eye to eye.
The topic that is stalling this agreement is the tech industry. China wants the U.S. to be more
flexible with products in tech industries like telecommunications systems. The U.S. wants China
to enforce stricter policies on intellectual property. The so-called tariff war is now shifting it’s
focus and becoming specifically a tech war. According to Michael Pillsbury, the American
Director of the Center on Chinese Strategy at the Hudson Institute, “Chinese demands have yet
to be addressed. They want to break into the U.S. e-commerce payments system, and have it
blessed by the U.S. side. And the U.S wants the Chinese to promise not to retaliate if there are
new tariffs. I cannot imagine China agreeing to this.” Because the U.S. and China still do not see
eye to eye, this is stalling the two countries to coming to a deal.
A deal was close to being agreed upon just a month ago, but now neither side seems to think an
impasse on disagreements is likely. More updates on the trade war will be posted here next
month.
Section 301 Developing News
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Last month we left off with an understanding of where the United States and China currently stand in the Section 301 trade war. At the beginning of the year the United States initially planned to increase rates on list three items to 25%. However, the United States granted a 90 day period in which the rates on list three items would remain at 10%, allowing more time for an agreement to be made between both countries before raising the rates. The two countries are still trying to come to an agreement. Below are some updates on the trade war.
On Monday February 11, “the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 53.22 points lower at 25,053.11, giving up an earlier gain of 90 points. The S&P 500 ended the day up less than 0.1 percent at 2,709.80 as gains in the industrials sector were capped by losses in health care and communications services. The Nasdaq Composite closed 0.1 percent higher at 7,307.90” according to CNBC. The United States is halted at a waiting point and not much fluctuation will occur as people are just waiting out to see the likelihood of a trade deal.
There is speculation that the two Presidents will meet in Florida within the next month or so. This week the United States and China will continue to try and strike a deal by focusing specifically on intellectual property. United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wishes to operate in an environment where technology, innovation, and know-how are all protected.
Analysts expect a deal as early as the end of this month. China needs a deal badly to calm the United States’ President from imposing another round of tariffs on imports from China. It has been reported that last month, the Chinese economy grew at it’s slowest pace in 28 years.
A deal is on the horizon and drastic changes are in the near future. Stay updated on Section 301 news here on the DutyCalc blog.
Update Section 301
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The trade war between the U.S. and China continues to impact economies on both sides. Tariffs have caused the U.S. stock market to plummet as the changes have led to a disruption in supply chain for major companies like Amazon, Facebook, and Apple. In China, analysts have reported that economic growth has slowed to its lowest in ten years. Sure, investors and shareowners are worried, but the two countries are making progress towards repairing the trade relationship.
It has been confirmed that on December 1, 2018 the U.S. and China reached an agreement to delay an increase on list three products. The increase of 10% to 25% on U.S. products was originally set to begin on January 1st. However, according to the White House, there will be a 90-day extension. If no agreement is made within those 90 days, rates will then rise to 25%.
In addition, China has agreed to, “purchase a not yet agreed upon, but very substantial amount of agricultural, energy, industrial and other product from the United States to reduce the trade imbalance” (Crowell Moring). This agreement from China may be a policy change or may be left up to private sector entities. The commitment has not yet been confirmed.
Lastly, during the December 1st meeting China also agreed to reduce the tariffs on U.S. automobile exports down from 40%.
There is still a significant gap between what the U.S. is seeking and what China is willing to offer, but these minor changes and progressions seem to hint at a solution. What happens within the next 90 days will give us an idea of what might happen in the near future.
For more information on the Section 301 tariffs and updates on the U.S. – China trade war, check back in to the DutyCalc blog.
Section 301 status
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The new Section 301 tariffs have caused drastic changes within the industry. Importers and exporters are scrambling to obtain the newest information as there are thousands of product listings that are affected by Trump’s trade changes. Below is an update on the current status of Lists 1-3.
List 1, which contains $34 billion worth of imports, has been effective since July 7, 2018. List 1 originally had over 1,000 tariff lines but ended up being condensed down to 818 items.
List 2, which contains $16 billion worth of imports, has been effective since August 23, 2018. List 2 originally had over 284 tariff lines but ended up being condensed down to 279 items.
List 3, which contains about $200 billion worth of imports, has been effective since September 24, 2018. List 3 originally had over 6,000 tariff lines but ended up being condensed down to 5,745 items.
Though these lists of tariffs have been implemented, The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, has provided an opportunity for the public to request for product exclusion. Giving companies the opportunity to address situations that allow exclusion of a specific product within a subheading but not the tariff subheading as a whole. Because of such a high volume of requests, the USTR is still currently in the process of posting final exclusions.
To take full advantage of duty drawback on the Section 301 duties, check out our full service and software drawback options. Duty Calc has already helped our customers claim thousands of dollars due to these new changes. With the right help, you can easily claim all duties that are available to you.
New changes are still to come in the near future which will continue to impact this industry. Duty Calc will keep all of our customers up to date to the best of our ability. Continue to check back in to the Duty Calc blog for updated information on Section 301 and new tariff information.
