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Tougher rules for US imports on DDP put pressure on buyers and suppliers

US companies buying goods on Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) terms have been urged to examine who is responsible for their customs declarations, after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) introduced new requirements for foreign importers of record (IORs). The interim final rule, published in the Federal Register last week takes effect on 5 January, with new conditions for foreign IORs making both formal and informal entries into the US, as well as additional verification responsibilities for licensed customs brokers. Under the rule, a foreign IOR validated under the Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) programme can make entries itself, or appoint a licensed customs broker that does not have to be CTPAT-validated. A foreign IOR without CTPAT must designate a broker that is both licensed and CTPAT-validated to make the entry or act as IOR. Where the foreign party is not the owner or purchaser of the goods, the designated broker must act as the importer of record. However, the rule also establishes stricter criteria for determining whether a business qualifies as a US IOR. An individual must be a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, while a company must be organised under US law, located in the country, and at least 51% of its beneficial owners must be US citizens or permanent residents who control the business, or who directly own a significant amount of unencumbered US real estate. Licensed customs brokers will have to verify a client's eligibility before declaring it to be a US IOR. They must request and review supporting records, which could include corporate documents, financial statements, and proof of citizenship or permanent residence. Verification records must then be retained for five years. The development follows CargoTrans's recent tariff webinar, which examined the risks associated with DDP arrangements, noted that in theory an overseas supplier typically arranging import clearance and paying duties and taxes, offered the US buyer a seemingly simpler route to receiving goods. But CargoTrans co-CEO Nunzio De Filippis said the new rule made that convenience harder to achieve, adding: "So that easy button that we spoke about just got harder to press." He advised buyers to establish exactly who is responsible for the import process when their overseas supplier sells on DDP terms. "You have to ask them who is the importer record, who is the customs broker, what does that arrangement look like, and does it meet the new requirements?" he said. "Welcome to the age of strengthening customs enforcement," he added. CBP explained the measures were intended to improve visibility of foreign importers, strengthen accountability, and help ensure duties are collected. The agency highlighted difficulties pursuing unpaid duties and enforcing customs requirements against foreign entities with few US assets. Brokers may request delayed compliance with the new verification requirements before 5 January, but all must be fully compliant by 6 May next year. Comments on the interim final rule are due by 5 January. For US buyers, the update means a DDP quotation alone is no guarantee that the underlying import arrangements meet the new requirements. Buyers should establish who is named as the IOR, which broker is filing the entry, and whether the relevant parties satisfy CBPconditions.

Fast delivery: Amazon's smart glasses - a data moat in disguise

The e-commerce giant plans to deploy more than 20,000 camera-equipped glasses to delivery drivers by the end of 2027. The efficiency gains are real. But the competitive weapon is the dataset being built behind them - and rivals should be paying far closer attention. When Amazon detailed its expansion plans for AI-powered smart delivery glasses in September, the coverage predictably centered on the wearable itself: a heads-up display that shows drivers which package to grab, overlays walking directions to ...

Continued congestion at ports puts pressure on intra-Asia box rates

Congestion at several ports continues to put upward pressure on intra-Asia container freight rates, despite improving conditions at major Chinese gateways and key transhipment hubs. The result is the Drewry Intra-Asia Container Index (IACI) is up by $46, to $1,504 per 40ft. Spot rates from Greater China to North-east, South-east and South Asia were mostly stable during the week, as major ports, including those in China and Singapore, managed to absorb congestion. However, smaller South-east Asian ports continued to struggle with vessel delays and operational constraints, keeping rates elevated on several tradelanes. Rates from Shanghai to Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, and Laem Chabang remained high and continued to rise. At the end of October, rates from Jakarta to Shanghai were up 9% from the previous week, to $81 per 40ft. The Shanghai Containerised Freight Index on Friday showed the Shanghai-South-east Asia rate up 2% from 30 October, to $1,164 per teu. Jakarta's primary port, Tanjung Priok, is struggling to cope with vessel bunching, because sudden, unscheduled multi-ship arrivals instantly overwhelm bottlenecked roads and container depots that are already at full capacity. One forwarder at Taiwan's Dimerco told The Loadstar Jakarta's landside logistics had not caught up with improvements in terminal capacity. In August, Indonesia state-owned terminal operator Pelindo preliminarily launched Terminal 2 Petikemas. However, construction of New Priok Eastern Access, a new road to improve access, only started in July, and will take 20 months to finish. The forwarder said: "Slow turnaround makes shipping lines reluctant to absorb the costs of repositioning empty containers. This local equipment shortage drives up the prices for available containers." At Ho Chi Minh City, average vessel waiting times have increased from eight to 22 hours over the past fortnight, reflecting worsening congestion at the Vietnamese port. Rates from Shanghai remained unchanged, at $44 per 40ft. In contrast, improving conditions at the major ports resulted in modest rate reductions on some routes. Rates from Shanghai to Singapore fell 3%, to $1,889 per 40ft, while those to Tanjung Pelepas declined 2%, to $2,053 per 40ft. Adding capacity to the Straits-Indonesia trade, Pacific International Lines (PIL) is scheduled to launch its new JKS service today. The fortnightly service will deploy two vessels of between 1,900 and 2,600 teu, calling at Singapore, Laem Chabang and Jakarta.