CBP Must Be Notified of Price Changes, Venable Lawyers Say
Compliance is still a necessity even as the way business is conducted changes radically, Venable lawyers told those tuning in for a webinar March 30. Venable partner Lindsay Meyer said that if importers are going to be paying more to get goods that are in short supply, she wanted to remind them that “under the customs regulations, any agreement to change a price for an imported good must happen prior to export.” She said those changes are best reflected in writing, whether in the contract or in an email.
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However, if they didn't do that, they can flag for CBP that they need to do a value reconciliation, she said. Venable's Elizabeth Lowe told listeners that air cargo capacity is down about 60%, and traders are shifting to ocean routes as a result. She said that both Long Beach and Los Angeles ports in California are operating at about 80% capacity, and that the container imbalance is starting to be corrected.
The lawyers also said they've gotten a lot of questions about whether warehouses are still essential businesses if they hold items that are not essential, such as apparel or furniture. They said updated guidance from the federal government released March 28 shows that they are. Lowe said that's important, because if importers of apparel don't take delivery because they think their warehouses can't be in operation, the backlog of that cargo can slow the movement of essential goods.
However, she noted that some goods aren't leaving the ports, not because the companies don't think they're allowed to staff warehouses but because they don't see why they should when they have no stores open -- or their own warehouses are full because inventory is not being sold.