American Shipper posted a new article by Eric Kulisch, Air Cargo Editor:

"The Biden administration on Friday again urged global ocean carriers to accept more export freight and restore service at underutilized West Coast ports to ease supply chain constraints and give U.S. agriculture companies a fair chance to sell their goods in overseas markets. The request signals that the White House will remain focused on trying to tighten regulation of the industry next year."

EMTC CEO, Marianne Rowden, was quoted in the article:

The joint letter “tells me that the administration is really feeling the heat from farmers and ranchers, who are now more dependent on foreign markets for profitability,” Marianne Rowden, CEO of the E-Merchants Trade Council and former head of the American Association of Exporters and Importers, said in an email. “The only way I could see the administration making a difference is by ordering these carriers to other West Coast ports through the Coast Guard denying them access to the Port of LA/Long Beach and saying that idling the ships off the coast is a national security risk.”

See the full article on the FreightWaves American Shipper website or download here.

On December 16, 2021, EMTC filed a written statement for the record with the House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee for the December 2nd hearing on "Supporting U.S. Workers, Businesses, and the Environment in the Face of Unfair Chinese Trade Practices".  

EMTC's comments are drafted to counter the testimony of hearing witness Kimberly Glas, President & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations, who recommended that Congress "Close the Section 321 De Minimis Tariff Loophole."  See page 11 of testimony.

Now is the time for all companies involved in the e-commerce industry to join EMTC as it is clear that Congress has its sights on restricting e-commerce shipments.  Therefore, EMTC will mount a broad grassroots effort to educate Congress and policymakers about how critical e-commerce is to MSME e-sellers.

Politico reports that the Internet Assocation that represents global internet companies will be shutting down at the end of 2021.  See Politico article at "The Internet Association is Shutting Down as Giants Decide to Go It Alone".

The Platform Economy Insights (PEI) provides the following context on this development:

Context – All “tech” companies are not alike. Business models are often vastly different, leading to different perspectives on public policy issues. And trade association politics is complicated and often changing. IA was created because the few Internet firms lobbying in DC saw themselves as different from software, hardware (consumer and network), telecommunications and content companies, which each had trade groups to lobby government. It’s said that “Internet Time” moves faster, so it’s not surprising that the IA folded quickly. The trade groups on the other side of those issues have shifted too, with big cable, big telecom and video industries continuing on in various forms and names. Top takeaways of the IA news: The Internet giants have problems with each other (i.e. Microsoft v Google); Facebook seems far more willing to call for major regulation than the other platforms (supporting DMA and Sec. 230 reform); The Internet giants are so big that they seem to prefer to go it alone rather than find common ground with mid-size companies; Digital work platforms may need to create a more specialized industry group, and; The big regulatory changes are coming from Europe.

See the PEI's Update on Public Policy Impacting Digital Platforms (December 16, 2021) or Platform Economy Insights.

EMTC filed comments with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on its FRN seeking a new data collection request from Office of Management and Budget (OMB).   The FRN also announces an Evaluative Proof of Concept (EPoC).  See the FRN at 86 Fed. Reg. 55629.

CBP seeks to replace the Manufacturer Identification Code (MID) through an EPoC by using LEI, GLN, and DUNS to determine which would be the best GBI.  EMTC has series concerns about CBP's GBI proposal.

To read EMTC's comments, please click the link to download: EMTC Comments on GBI.

Washington, D.C.-

The House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee held a hearing on "Supporting U.S. Workers, Businesses, and the Environment in the Face of Unfair Chinese Trade Practices"

The issue that caught a lot of attention was Chairman Blumenauer highlighting the testimony of Kimberly Glas, President & CEO, National Council of Textile Organizations, who recommended that Congress "Close the Section 321 De Minimis Tariff Loophole."  See page 11 of testimony.

Discussion of this issue appears at the following time points in the hearing: 15:42, 28:20 and 49:00.

EMTC believes now is the time for the e-commerce industry to make its voice heard in Congress.  After nearly two-years of lockdowns, small businesses are trying to reinvent their companies using the e-commerce supply chain.  Americans have built their e-commerce businesses based on legislation passed by Congress, and changing the rules will have a devastating impact.    

EMTC speaks to Congressional staff on a continuous basis on issues important to the e-commerce industry.  Contact EMTC's CEO, Marianne Rowden, at mrowden@emtc.org, if you will be negatively affected by elimination of Section 321 and De Minimis.

Periodically EMTC will post material from the third-party sources to keep you apprised of e-commerce and digital economy developments around the world.  One such source is Platform Economy Insights (PEI) published by our friend, Brian Bieron, who has years of experience working on digital economy public policy issues.   We recommend companies engaged in e-commerce for both physical and digital goods subscribe to informational feeds on these topics.  PEI is a good service because it provides context and analysis to understand news reports.  Below is a headline about an important development:

PEI sites a report in the Financial Times on “European Council Agrees on DMA and DSA Plans and Vestager Presses Forward” and provides the following summary:

In Brief – The Council of Europe, the EU’s legislative body made up of the bloc’s 27 Member States, has agreed on draft language for the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), two landmark bills rewriting the rules of the digital economy. The DSA is a comprehensive update of the EU’s eCommerce Directive that provides the legal framework for digital platforms in Europe and aims to regulate better policing of harmful content by platforms. The DMA aims to address competition concerns in the digital economy that are attributed to the largest “gatekeeper” platforms. The European Commission unveiled drafts of both last December and they have been under review in the European Parliament and in the Member States, who meet in the Council. (Links to legislative schedules for DSA and DMA.) Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, a leader on digital policy on the European Commission as well as the bloc’s top antitrust official, followed up the recent Council actions that largely backed the Commission’s DSA and DMA drafts by calling for the Parliament to also conclude work quickly, counseling those who are concerned with digital platforms that “Perfect not be the enemy of very, very good.”

Geneva -

The General Council agreed late Friday (26 November) to postpone the imminent Ministerial Conference after an outbreak of a particularly transmissible strain of the COVID-19 virus led several governments to impose travel restrictions that would have prevented many ministers from reaching Geneva.

See the full statement at: WTO | 2021 News items - General Council decides to postpone MC12 indefinitely

After a careful analysis of Senator Cassidy's (LA-R) Customs Modernization Act of 2021 "Discussion Draft", EMTC submitted comments on the bill.

EMTC's Board of Directors felt it was important to "level set" by providing a historical context of trade legislation to ask a fundamental question "What is Customs Modernization?"  EMTC offered its ideas for a new regime in the section under "Customs Modernization Requires a New Statutory Framework." 

You can download EMTC comments at Statement of EMTC on Customs Modernization Act of 2021 "Discussion Draft".

Please contact us (mrowden@emtc.org) to discuss EMTC's comments and how this bill will impact your business in the e-commerce supply chain.

Geneva-

The co-convenors of the negotiations on e-commerce — Australia, Japan and Singapore — said at a meeting on 10 November they plan to issue a statement on behalf of the participating members to take stock of the work achieved so far. The statement, to be issued at the 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), will also reiterate the commitment to achieving an ambitious agreement on e-commerce and set targets for work in the year ahead. Members also heard updates from facilitators of small group discussions and reviewed text proposals for the e-commerce agreement.

See full statement at: WTO | 2021 News items - Negotiations on e-commerce advance, eyeing a statement at MC12

EMTC will be participating in the MC12 as an accredited NGO and will report back to EMTC members about progress of the negotiators and the impact on e-sellers.

We have reviewed the “Discussion Draft” of the Customs Modernization Act of 2021 circulated by Senator Cassidy (LA-R) and prepared an EMTC Issue Alert summary of the major provisions of the bill.

Senator Cassidy is seeking industry feedback on the "Discussion Draft" by November 20, 2021 before the bill gets introduced in the U.S. Senate.

Please contact us (mrowden@emtc.org) to get a copy of the "Discussion Draft" and to discuss how this bill will impact your business in the e-commerce supply chain.