ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
TOP NEWS
Timely or timeless? There’s always time in the HUB
TGA
Versatile is its middle name, whether on a camel or in a plane. Its passport pages would all be filled because, like you, it lives for thrills. This one’s easy, you will see. It takes a pounding, keeps rebounding and fits frequent flyers to a tee. Some may tuck it on their bed; others use it with a pen. It’s like a facial without the fingers, whose healing scents tend to linger. So, riddle me this and register there. And if you’re not in the HUB, then…where?
Senate Approves Anti-China Bill, Includes GSP Renewal and Restart of China Tariff Exclusion Process, Next Steps Unclear
TGA
On June 8, the Senate approved the Endless Frontiers Act (S. 1260) by a vote of 68-32. The anti-China legislation includes a provision that would retroactively renew and extend GSP from December 31, 2020 – January 1, 2027, add new eligibility criteria for beneficiary countries, including human rights, women’s economic empowerment, and rule of law, and require regular country eligibility reviews. The fate of the overall anti-China legislation remains uncertain as it moves to consideration in the House. Note that the new eligibility requirements and required review could put into jeopardy GSP benefits for key travel goods suppliers like Myanmar and Cambodia. GSP expired on December 31, 2020, meaning that U.S. travel goods imports from a wide range of developing countries, including Thailand, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar), Indonesia, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Pakistan have paid full duties since January 1, 2021. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued instructions on how importers can retain the right to collect refunds of duties paid if GSP is retroactively renewed. The legislation would also re-open and fix the TGA-supported China Section 301 tariff exclusion process. Under the previous tariff exclusion process, numerous petitions for travel goods exclusions were seemingly arbitrarily rejected. A re-opening of the process could provide a new opportunity to exclude certain travel goods items from the 25% punitive tariff on U.S. travel goods imports from China. These tariffs are in addition to the normal 17-20% tariffs paid on U.S. travel goods imports from China, leading to an effective tariff rate of around 42-45%.
ADVERTISEMENT
Biden Supply Chain ‘Strike Force’ to Target China on Trade
REUTERS
The U.S. will target China with a new “strike force” to combat unfair trade practices, the Biden administration said earlier this week, as it rolled out findings of a review of access to critical products, from semiconductors to electric-vehicle batteries. READ MORE
South China Ports in Crisis as Congestion Spreads
GCAPTAIN
South China’s port congestion has gone from bad to worse – delays at Yantian are spilling over to nearby Shekou and Nansha. When the bottleneck began over two weeks ago, Hutchison-run Yantian International Container Terminal (YICT) blamed out-of-whack shipping schedules for suspending laden export operations. Since then, however, multiple shipping lines, including Maersk, have blamed COVID-19 for causing the poor port productivity in the Pearl River Delta. READ MORE
U.S.-bound Imports May Be on Course for New Records, Reports Port Tracker
LOGISTICS MANAGEMENT
For April, the most recent month for which data is available, import volume came in at 2.15 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units), marking a 33.4% annual gain, for its best April reading ever, compared to April 2020, when most stores were closed due to the pandemic. This came on the heels of March’s 2.27 million TEU, the record-high for any month, going back to when NRF first started tracking imports. READ MORE
Online Sales Exploded in 2020 – But Mostly for Retail Giants
INC.
Well-known brands like Amazon and Walmart won big last year. Here’s how your small business can catch up. READ MORE
Help! I Need Ideas for U.S. Travel, With High Vaccination Rates, Please
THE NEW YORK TIMES
A reader asks for recommendations for domestic travel destinations, particularly places that rely on tourism – and encourage vaccinations. READ MORE
The Retail Ad Wars Are Heating Up: How Major Companies Are Leveraging the Amazon Playbook
FORBES
Display and search advertising on Amazon.com received a huge lift in visibility due – to no one’s surprise – the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many shoppers to break traditional buying habits and seek out online-first marketplaces for all their needs. This shift in behavioral shopping habits will have long-term repercussions that will continue long after the pandemic is over. READ MORE
100 Social Media Marketing Statistics You Should Know
99SIGNALS
With over 53% of the world’s population on social media, it’s critical that your business has an effective social media strategy that helps you reach your intended audience. To help you get on track and plan your approach for the rest of the year, we’ve compiled a list of essential social media statistics so you know where to focus your marketing efforts and get the highest ROI. READ MORE
Airport Retailing Market to Reach $40.5B Globally by 2027
ALLIED MARKET RESEARCH
Rise in inclination of people toward unique and exotic holiday experiences and surge in the income of middle- and upper-class people fuel the growth of the global airport retailing market. READ MORE
84% of Consumers Value Digital Security Over Checkout Friction When Shopping First-time Merchants
PYMNTS.COM
Data security – and the robust infrastructure to support it – is much more than a barrier that can prevent costly cyberattacks. PYMNTS’ research shows that data security is an essential component of customer service, signaling trustworthiness to consumers who want safe customer experiences as much or even more than they want frictionless checkouts, especially when it comes to mobile devices. READ MORE
A 4-Step Framework for Returning to the Office
MIT MANAGEMENT SLOAN SCHOOL
Whether a multinational corporation or a small business with a half-dozen desks, the question many companies are asking is: How do we go back to the office? The managers who oversee 1,300 Massachusetts employees working for Gillette are asking themselves that question. And a trio of MIT Sloan Action Learning students have an answer in the form of a four-step framework they developed in a project with Gillette, the shaving brand owned by Procter & Gamble. READ MORE
America’s Amtrak Moment Could Finally Be Here
CNN
Created in 1971 from the creaking remains of the classic U.S. railroads that helped build modern America, Amtrak has often lived a precarious existence. Subject to the whims of politicians in Washington D.C. and constantly under pressure from the well-funded and hugely influential oil, automotive and airline industry lobbies, the national passenger rail operator has been threatened with oblivion on several occasions. But as it celebrates a 50th anniversary that few would have predicted, there are signs that Amtrak’s moment may finally have arrived. READ MORE
TRENDING ARTICLES
Missed last week’s issue? See which articles your colleagues read most.