101 articles, written from the buying side
Duty, dangerous goods, landed cost, factory quality and import paperwork. Written from twenty years of placing, shipping and clearing real chemical orders.
Tariffs & Trade
Commerce's final affirmative AD determination on Chinese MDI lands Wanhua Chemical with margins up to 507%, while vanillin from China faces 520 to 551% preliminary duties. With 727 active AD/CVD orders and a petition pipeline accelerating, Australian importers need to recalculate landed costs now.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
USTR opened twin Section 301 investigations on 11 to 13 March 2026, one into structural excess capacity across 16 countries and one into forced labour practices across 58 countries. Public comments are due 15 April, hearings 28 April. Here is what chemical importers of MDI, TDI and specialty intermediates need to do now.
10 min read
Sourcing
This historical March 2026 guide discusses the item descriptions in China's April 2025 rare earth export announcement. Licensing depends on the exported item and applicable rules. Market statistics, approval timelines and private sourcing accounts remain unverified.
10 min read
Sourcing
US imports from China fell to $308B in 2025, the lowest since 2009 and 42% below 2018. Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia absorbed the overflow. Here is how chemical importers should rebuild their sourcing matrix in 2026.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Trump's February 20 EO invoked Section 122 of the Trade Act for a 150 day 10% global tariff. Chemicals, pharmaceuticals, energy and critical minerals caught major exemptions. Here's the full exempt list and the landed cost maths.
10 min read
Finance
CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties on February 24, 2026. Around 330,000 businesses overpaid. If you're a chemical importer who paid 20 percentage points of IEEPA duties since February 4, 2025, here's the step-by-step refund claim.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
On February 20, 2026, SCOTUS ruled 6-3 that IEEPA does not authorise presidential tariffs. The 10% fentanyl and 10% reciprocal tariffs on Chinese chemicals are gone effective February 24. Here's what changes for your entries this week.
10 min read
Sourcing
QIMA's 2025 data shows US inspection demand in China fell 18% while Vietnam jumped 30% and Thailand 44%. Here's how to audit a Chinese chemical factory that's quietly losing customers and cutting corners.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The Supreme Court heard Learning Resources Inc. v. Trump on November 5, 2025. This article preserves its January 2026 planning perspective. Its collection totals and automatic refund assumptions were not established by the dated record; refund procedures require separate review. Here's how chemical importers should model the scenarios.
10 min read
Compliance
MOFCOM's silver export control package took effect January 1, 2026. Silver feeds chemical catalysts, electronic paste, photovoltaic cells, brazing alloys, and antimicrobial compounds. Here's the affected process map plus a Mexico, Peru, and Poland alternative sourcing matrix for US chemical importers.
10 min read
Sourcing
GACC's January 14, 2026 release of full-year 2025 data showed China's trade surplus at $1.189 trillion, the first country ever to cross $1T. US imports fell to $308B, the lowest since 2009. Here's what the capacity reallocation means for US chemical importers placing 2026 orders.
10 min read
Compliance
A year-end 2026 planning playbook for US chemical importers: tariff stacks reaching 27 to 45 percent on most HS codes, IMDG 42-24 mandatory from January 1, TSCA PFAS reporting windows, Section 301 exclusion expiries, and five risk scenarios you need modelled before Q1 ends.
11 min read
Finance
Late December 2025: Drewry WCI is at USD 2,213 per FEU, Shanghai to USWC spot sits at USD 2,474. The global fleet grew 16 per cent in two years with 9 million TEU of newbuilds scheduled for 2026. Carriers pushed GRIs on 1 December and couldn't make them stick. Here's how to negotiate chemical freight contracts at the bottom of the cycle and lock in 2026 rates that hold.
10 min read
Sourcing
GACC November data pushed China's January to November 2025 trade surplus to USD 1.08 trillion, up 22.1 per cent year on year. US bound exports are down 28 per cent, ASEAN is up 13 per cent, Africa 26 per cent, EU 8 per cent. For Australian chemical importers, this is the clearest signal yet that Chinese supplier priorities have fundamentally shifted. Here's what that means for your 2026 sourcing decisions.
10 min read
Logistics
SCA reported Benjamin Franklin’s UK-to-Malaysia transit on 8 November 2025, describing it as the largest container ship to transit in two years. A separate October figure of 229 referred to returning vessels, not all canal traffic. This historical article discusses chemical freight and routing scenarios.
December 3, 2025 10 min read
Compliance
On 10 November 2025 the EPA proposed amendments to TSCA Section 8(a)(7) that introduce a 0.1 per cent de minimis threshold for PFAS in mixtures and exempt most imported articles. Here's what the $786 to $843 million compliance saving looks like for an Australian importer moving fluoropolymers, surfactants, and coated articles into the US market.
10 min read
Compliance
EPA announced expanded chemical and pesticide import enforcement in December 2025. This historical discussion distinguishes a documented BASF CDR settlement from unverified enforcement totals and explains reporting-cycle checks.
November 21, 2025 10 min read
Compliance
MOFCOM suspended the October 9 rare earth controls for 12 months, but kept the April 4 Announcement No. 18 heavy rare earths locked. Here's the element-by-element matrix, the licence process still in force, and which chemical formulations stay constrained through 2026.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
November 2025 cornerstone: the Trump-Xi Busan truce, the November 10 fentanyl tariff cut from 20% to 10%, the twelve-month suspension of the October 9 rare earth package, the critical fact that MOFCOM Announcement No. 18 (April 4) stays live, and EPA's expanded import enforcement. Complete 2026 sourcing budget model for Australian chemical importers.
14 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The Busan tariff cuts went live November 10, dropping the IEEPA base to roughly 20%. Here's the exact FOB and CIF recalculation workflow to run with your Chinese chemical suppliers this week, with worked examples on MDI, TDI and caustic soda cargoes.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Seven concrete outcomes from the Trump-Xi Busan meeting on October 30, and how each one reshapes the Q1 2026 ordering calendar for US chemical importers sourcing from Wanhua, Sinopec and the Yangtze River Delta cluster.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
USTR initiated a Section 301 investigation on October 24 into China's compliance with the 2020 Phase One agreement. 178 product exclusions were extended through 29 November 2025; individual chemical coverage requires the precise exclusion description. Here's the exposure and the playbook.
October 22, 2025 10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
October 2025 cornerstone: MOFCOM's six-announcement rare earth package (holmium, erbium, thulium, europium, ytterbium added), China's first FDPR-style 0.1% de minimis rule, USTR's $50 per net ton port fees, and the October 27 Phase One Section 301 investigation. Complete tariff stack, worked landed cost maths, and Australian importer playbook.
14 min read
Logistics
USTR's Section 301 port fees took effect October 14, charging Chinese-owned vessels $50 per net tonne and Chinese-built non-Chinese-operated ships $18 per net tonne or $120 per container. Here's how the cost cascades into your chemical freight invoice.
10 min read
Compliance
MOFCOM's six October 9 announcements added holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium to the control list and introduced China's first FDPR-style rule with a 0.1% de minimis threshold. Here's what changes for US chemical importers.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The 29 September 2025 proclamation scheduled 25% duties on covered upholstered wooden products and cabinets from 14 October. It originally scheduled 30% upholstery and 50% cabinet duties for January 2026; a later amendment postponed those increases to January 2027.
10 min read
Compliance
On 25 September 2025, MOFCOM added Huntington Ingalls, Planate Management Group and Global Dimensions to China's Dual-Use Export Control List. For US chemical importers, the risk is suppliers in China with defence-adjacent corporate parents. Here is the step-by-step corporate structure check you need before your next purchase order.
10 min read
Finance
This historical article discusses Q4 freight contracting using unverified rate, capacity and blank-sailing inputs. Its October and November 2025 figures postdate the preserved September archive date and are not verified observations.
September 22, 2025 10 min read
Compliance
A retrospective TSCA proposal and IMDG 42-24 timeline. The later Hapag-Lloyd schedule distinguishes cargo-specific DG premiums; a blanket October 2025 surcharge is not established.
September 17, 2025 14 min read
Compliance
EPA's September 2025 proposed amendments to the TSCA Section 6 Risk Evaluation Framework Rule would shift from chemical-wide to use-specific evaluations. The later published notice set a 7 November 2025 comment deadline. The article’s claimed enforcement totals remain unverified. Here is what it means for importers sourcing chemicals from China.
September 8, 2025 10 min read
Compliance
IMO Resolution MSC.556(108) locks in IMDG 42-24 on 1 January 2026. Over 300 changes hit chemical importers: new UN numbers for sodium-ion batteries, deleted Special Provision 925, on-deck stowage for lithium, plus a $250/container DG surcharge from Hapag-Lloyd. Here is the checklist you need before your next booking.
10 min read
Sourcing
US inspection and audit demand in China fell 18% during 2025, as QIMA later reported in January 2026. April 2025 manufacturing PMI was 49.0, with new export orders at 44.7. These broad indicators do not prove the status of an individual chemical supplier.
August 22, 2025 10 min read
Compliance
MOFCOM dropped 12 US entities from its Dual-Use Export Control List on 12 August as a goodwill gesture. But the April 4 rare-earth licence regime is fully in force and processing is running weeks to months. Here is what that means for chemical and raw material importers.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The August 11 Executive Order extended the Geneva truce another 90 days to November 10, removed 12 US companies from China's Dual-Use list, and let reciprocal tariffs on non-China origins resume August 7. But Section 301 and the April 4 rare earth controls stayed. Here's the full stacked-duty picture for chemical raw material landed costs into late 2025.
14 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The 11 August executive order formally extended the reduced 10% reciprocal duty another 90 days. Here is a step-by-step landed cost recalculation for China-origin chemical imports under the current stacked rate architecture.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Stockholm talks on 28-29 July extended the China tariff truce another 90 days to ~10 November 2025. Chemical importers still face a stacked ~55% effective rate. Here is how to rebuild your Q4 procurement plan around it.
10 min read
Finance
Drewry WCI spiked 12% in a week to $4,716 per FEU, SCFI is at 3,184, and traders are whispering about $20,000 Asia-Europe prints. Here's the contract negotiation playbook for chemical importers this month.
10 min read
Logistics
July 6 Magic Seas sinking shattered the May ceasefire, Panama Canal restored full 50-foot draft, and Stockholm talks on 28-29 July extended the tariff truce another 90 days. The route economics for China to Australia chemical shipping just fundamentally changed. Here's the decision matrix.
14 min read
Logistics
Gatun Lake is back at 86.6 ft, full 50-ft draft is restored, and FY2025 transits hit 13,404. Here's the East Coast routing math for chemical importers choosing between Panama, Suez alternatives, and trans-Pacific plus rail.
10 min read
Logistics
The Magic Seas went to the bottom on 6 July 2025, ending the May ceasefire. Here's what it costs a US chemical importer to route via Cape of Good Hope versus paying the war-risk premium through Bab el-Mandeb.
10 min read
Tariffs & Trade
A historical discussion of June 2025 US steel and aluminium import duties. The Australian example separates illustrative supplier prices and freight from taxes that require an actual customs assessment.
June 16, 2025 12 min read
Sourcing
On 12 May the Geneva talks delivered a 90-day tariff truce that takes the effective stack from roughly 145 per cent down to around 30 per cent. De minimis for Chinese goods ended on 2 May. The Houthi ceasefire on 6 May hints at Red Sea normalisation. Here is the procurement playbook for the window.
13 min read
Tariffs & Trade
From 2 April to 10 April the effective US duty on Chinese-origin goods walked from a baseline stack to 145 per cent peak. At the same time MOFCOM put seven medium and heavy rare earths on licence. Here is the landed-cost maths and the five-move playbook.
13 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Executive Order 14228 doubled the IEEPA fentanyl tariff from 10 to 20 per cent on March 4, GACC logged a front-loaded February, and every open PO now needs a fresh landed-cost model. Here is what an Australian importer should do this week.
12 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Executive Order 14195 imposed a 10 per cent ad valorem IEEPA duty on every Chinese-origin import effective 4 February. Inside the same 24 hours, MOFCOM Announcement No. 10 added tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, and indium to the export licence regime. Here's what that stack actually does to your landed cost and your Q2 supply book.
12 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Descartes reported 2,487,470 TEUs for January 2025 on 10 February: a January record, up 5.1% from December. This retrospective discussion separates those later figures and the February tariff order from the preserved January archive date.
January 16, 2025 12 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Brussels dropped provisional anti-dumping duties of 17 to 38 per cent on Chinese electric vehicles on 12 June, and Beijing opened retaliation files on EU dairy, pork, and spirits within 72 hours. The collateral damage for US chemical importers runs through shared Chinese production lines, and the price and capacity squeeze starts the moment the 4 July duties bite.
12 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The USTR announced Section 301 tariff increases on 14 May that push EV duties to 100%, lithium batteries to 25%, solar cells to 50%, and medical syringes to 50% effective 1 August. Here's what's moving, what's not, and what it does to your chemical and battery-material landed costs line by line.
12 min read
Sourcing
China's General Administration of Customs reported March 2024 exports up 7.4% year-on-year, but the US-bound chemical numbers tell a different story. Here's why Chinese factories are redirecting volume to Europe and ASEAN, what it means for your supplier relationships, and how to read the divergence in your next sourcing decision.
12 min read
Logistics
The Dali struck the Francis Scott Key Bridge at 0128 on 26 March and the Port of Baltimore is now fully closed to vessel traffic. Here's what it's doing to your fertiliser, bulk chemical, and ro-ro chemical cargo, what rerouting to Norfolk and Philadelphia really costs, and what to do this week.
12 min read
Supply Chain
This is the first Chinese New Year in four years that has collided with a live global shipping crisis. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong factories closed 7 to 18 February while Red Sea rerouting kept piling on transit days. Combined lead times have stretched to 8 to 10 weeks. Here is what it means for your Q2.
12 min read
Logistics
Three weeks into 2024 and more than nine in ten container ships have abandoned the Suez route. The Drewry index has more than doubled, war-risk premiums have spiked, and chemical importers are rewriting Q1 landed cost models on the fly. Here is the current state of play and the numbers you need.
12 min read
Logistics
The world's four largest container lines have pulled out of Bab el-Mandeb inside a single week, rerouting Asia to Europe and Asia to US East Coast cargo around the Cape of Good Hope. Here is what it does to your transit times, your freight bill, and your IMDG insurance for Q1 2024.
12 min read
Tariffs & Trade
The November 15-16 2023 Biden-Xi summit at Filoli Estate in Woodside, California produced a restored military-to-military hotline, fentanyl precursor cooperation, and an AI safety dialogue. It did not produce any Section 301 tariff relief. Here is what the Woodside agreement really means for US chemical importers still paying 25% on List 3 and List 4A HS lines out of China.
13 min read
Logistics
Following the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the October 19 interception of Houthi missiles and drones by USS Carney, war-risk insurance premiums on Bab el-Mandeb transits are spiking and chemical importers routing through Suez have started contingency planning for a Cape of Good Hope diversion. Here is what that realistically adds to your IMDG landed cost and how to decide when to pull the trigger.
October 16, 2023 13 min read
Compliance
On October 20 2023, MOFCOM and GACC gazetted export licence requirements for natural flake graphite, spherical graphite, and high-purity synthetic graphite effective December 1. With China producing 65% of natural and around 90% of synthetic graphite globally, every battery anode buyer, carbon brush OEM, and refractory importer has a six-week window to lock in coverage. Here is how to work that window.
September 25, 2023 13 min read
Logistics
The Panama Canal Authority cut daily transits from 36 to 24 through November 2023 and dropped draft limits to 44 feet, shaving 20 to 40% off chemical tanker payloads. Queues above 130 vessels and demurrage at $2,000 to $4,000 per day are now a weekly occurrence. Here is how the Gatun Lake drought is reshaping chemical flows, the routing alternatives, and the landed cost arithmetic you need before year end.
13 min read
Compliance
China's Ministry of Commerce announced gallium and germanium export controls on 3 July 2023, effective 1 August, requiring a licence for every outbound shipment. China supplies roughly 80% of world gallium and 60% of world germanium. LED precursors, fibre-optic glass, solar cells, and specialty coatings are all in the blast zone. Here is the licence timeline, the alternative-source maths, and the landed cost repricing you need this quarter.
13 min read
Tariffs & Trade
Secretary Blinken landed in Beijing on 18 June 2023 for the first US State Department visit in five years, and USTR followed by extending 352 Section 301 exclusions through 31 December 2023. Several chemical intermediates made the list. Here is how to read the extension schedule against your HS codes, the duty arithmetic on adipic acid and citric acid, and the filing windows that matter before year end.
12 min read
Sourcing
The G7 Hiroshima communique swapped "decoupling" for "de-risking" and put specific chemical and precursor categories on the coordination agenda. Here's what that language shift actually means for your China-dependent raw material portfolio and your sourcing plan through 2024.
12 min read
Sourcing
GACC released March 2023 trade figures showing exports at $315.6B and a 14.8% year-on-year jump, the strongest month since reopening. Here's what the record print actually means for your FOB negotiations and supplier leverage on mid-year chemical orders.
12 min read
Logistics
Gatun Lake levels have dropped far enough that the Panama Canal Authority is restricting vessel drafts, and chemical tankers are bearing the brunt. Here's what the drought is doing to your landed cost, your transit time, and your routing choices for the rest of 2023.
12 min read
Compliance
An F-22 put a missile into a Chinese surveillance balloon off South Carolina on 4 February, Blinken binned his Beijing trip, and inside a week CBP and EPA were quietly slow-walking Chinese-origin chemical entries. Here's what's happening to TSCA Section 5 PMN timelines, how import clearances are lengthening, and how to rebuild your landed cost and lead-time model for this new friction.
12 min read
Supply Chain
GACC's 13 January release showed FY2022 exports up 7 per cent to USD 3.59 trillion, but December alone dropped 9.9 per cent. That gap is the COVID wave hitting Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang chemical hubs. Here's how to read the data, model your February landed costs, and replan Q1 orders against a production base that's still suppressed.
12 min read
Supply Chain
Beijing ripped up the zero-COVID playbook overnight on 7 December, and within a fortnight Jiangsu and Shandong chemical parks were running on 40 to 60 per cent crews. Here's the brutal maths on what that does to your Q1 2023 landed cost and delivery windows, and how you plan orders through a reopening that actually collapses production before it recovers it.
12 min read
Supply Chain
Protests swept Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, and Ürümqi in late November 2022 after a deadly fire in Xinjiang on 24 November, and Foxconn Zhengzhou's worker riot earlier in the month had already shut a major production line. Chinese chemical factories are alternating between open and closed week by week. Here is the stress-test framework, the second-source playbook, and the Vietnam, Malaysia, and India routing maths you need before year end.
13 min read
Regulation & Compliance
On 7 October 2022 the Bureau of Industry and Security published sweeping export controls on advanced semiconductor technology to China. Buried in the rule are restrictions and downstream effects on photoresists, CMP slurries, high-purity solvents, wet etchants, and specialty electronic gases including NF3 and WF6. Chemical importers exposed to semiconductor-adjacent product lines need to read the fine print now.
13 min read
Logistics
The Federal Maritime Commission opened a wave of carrier investigations through September 2022 under the Ocean Shipping Reform Act signed 16 June. Detention, demurrage, chassis fees, peak season surcharges, and GRIs are all under scrutiny. Here is how to audit every invoice from 2021 and 2022, recover wrongful charges, and file a formal charge complaint under 46 CFR 545.5.
13 min read
Supply Chain
Speaker Pelosi landed in Taipei on 2 August 2022 and within 48 hours the PLA had cordoned off six live-fire zones around Taiwan. The Taiwan Strait carries roughly half the world's container tonnage. Here is what the crisis did to chemical lanes, Kaohsiung traffic, war-risk premiums, and prepayment terms, plus the contingency plan you should have drafted already.
12 min read
Logistics
The Drewry World Container Index is down more than 40% from its September 2021 peak. Spot Shanghai to LA has crashed to roughly USD 7,000 per FEU from north of USD 12,000. But shippers who signed 12 to 24 month contracts in late 2021 are paying two to three times spot. Here's how to renegotiate, walk away, or plan your 2023 tender.
12 min read
Regulation & Compliance
UFLPA enforcement began 21 June 2022 with CBP operational guidance released 13 June. Early detentions are hitting polysilicon, cotton-derived chemicals, and any Xinjiang-nexus raw materials. Here's the enforcement picture on day one, the high-risk commodity list, and what chain-of-custody evidence actually satisfies CBP.
12 min read
Supply Chain
Shanghai's gradual reopening kicked off in mid-May 2022 but the accumulated chemical backlog is eight weeks deep. Drayage rates are running 2 to 3 times normal, carriers are blanking Shanghai sailings and shifting to Ningbo-Zhoushan, and your PO book is about to get chaotic. Here's the restart playbook.
11 min read
Supply Chain
Shanghai's full-city lockdown began 1 April 2022 and more than 470 vessels are waiting in East China. Factories in Pudong, Minhang, and Songjiang have been dark for two weeks. Here's how to verify whether your Chinese chemical supplier is actually running, and who to call when WeChat goes silent.
11 min read
Supply Chain
Shanghai began a phased lockdown on 28 March 2022 with Pudong going first and Puxi to follow. Yangshan and Waigaoqiao terminals are operating but trucking access is collapsing. Here is what the lockdown does to your Q2 chemical shipments and how to protect them.
12 min read
Supply Chain
Russian forces entered Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Within 48 hours, global semiconductor-grade neon supply, the world's largest ammonia export flow, and critical palladium and noble gas streams are all in crisis. Here is what this means for chemical importers right now.
12 min read
Regulation & Compliance
The UFLPA takes effect 21 June 2022. This is the practical due diligence checklist for chemical importers: tier-by-tier supplier mapping, forensic testing options, a CBP evidence bundle, alternative sourcing timeline, and the costs you are looking at if you skip the work.
12 min read
Regulation & Compliance
President Biden signed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act into law on 23 December 2021. It takes effect on 21 June 2022 with a rebuttable presumption that anything touching Xinjiang is made with forced labour. Here is the compliance playbook for chemical importers, step by step.
12 min read
Regulation & Compliance
The UFLPA passed the US Senate unanimously on July 14, 2021, and the companion House bill is moving in November. It establishes a rebuttable presumption that any goods with a Xinjiang nexus are made with forced labour. PVC, polysilicon-linked chemistries, chlor-alkali feedstocks and coal-derived chemicals are all in scope. Here is what chemical importers need to do now.
13 min read
Logistics
A later government presentation preserves a dated Southern California vessel report. This historical guide separates waiting container ships from ships at berth and reviews contingency routes, shipping terms and the proposed dwell fee that was never collected.
October 15, 2021 13 min read
Supply Chain
September 2021 saw dual-control energy policy enforcement cut industrial electricity across 20+ Chinese provinces. Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong chemical parks stopped production for days or weeks. Urea, PVC, caustic soda, magnesium, silicon metal and yellow phosphorus prices spiked. Here is how to verify your supplier is actually running.
12 min read
Logistics
August 2021 saw more than 40 container vessels at anchor in San Pedro Bay, wait times of 10 to 14 days before berthing, and chemical cargo stuck in the yard. Combined with Yangshan, Ningbo, and the Yantian backlog, door-to-door lead times from China blew out past 12 weeks. Here is the real cost breakdown.
12 min read
Logistics
The Drewry WCI hit $8,796 per 40-foot container in mid-July 2021, an all-time high. Shanghai to Los Angeles rates are 5x pre-pandemic levels. Chemical importers on DDP are getting crushed and FOB buyers with their own forwarders aren't escaping either. Here's the real landed cost impact and how to respond.
13 min read
Regulation & Compliance
The White House released its 250-page 100-day supply chain review on 8 June 2021, covering semiconductors, batteries, critical minerals, and pharmaceuticals. Rare earths, lithium, cobalt, nickel, and APIs flagged as catastrophic China dependencies. Here's what it actually means for chemical importers and why short-term relief isn't coming.
13 min read
Markets & Pricing
The G7 B3W ($40T Build Back Better World) counter to China's Belt and Road is being teed up for the June Cornwall summit. Combined with Biden's $2.3 trillion US infrastructure plan, it's already moving steel, cement chemicals, battery chemicals, and specialty metals pricing. Here's how it lands on your FOB quotes.
13 min read
Tariffs & Trade Policy
USTR's mid-April 2021 interim report confirmed China at 58% of its Phase One manufacturing purchase commitments. For chemical importers hoping for Section 301 tariff relief on HTS Chapter 29 and 39 codes, that number is the nail in the coffin through 2022. Here's what to do now.
12 min read
Logistics
A retrospective account of MV Ever Given’s March 2021 blockage and Lloyd’s List’s estimated $9.6 billion daily goods flow. Queue counts and shipment costs remain unverified; the trade estimate does not establish individual importer charges.
March 25, 2021 12 min read
Supply Chain
Winter Storm Uri knocked out a significant share of US Gulf Coast chemical production in February 2021. MDI, TDI, HDPE, and polypropylene buyers are already scrambling. Here is what happened, which facilities declared force majeure, and how to move fast with Chinese alternative suppliers.
11 min read
Trade Policy
Biden was inaugurated January 20, 2021, and his team immediately confirmed that all Section 301 tariffs on Chinese goods would stay in place pending a comprehensive review. For chemical importers, this meant modelling tariff costs as permanent, not temporary.
8 min
Market Data
GACC's November 2020 data showed Chinese exports hitting $268.07B, up 21.1% YoY and a monthly record. For US chemical importers, the data confirmed full factory recovery and signaled a difficult pricing environment in 2021.
8 min
Trade Policy
Late-2020 developments included the US election, RCEP’s 15 November signing and SMIC’s later 18 December Entity List addition. This historical discussion distinguishes signing from RCEP’s subsequent entry into force.
November 16, 2020 8 min read
Logistics
The Shanghai Containerized Freight Index hit its highest level since 2011 in Q4 2020. Here is what that means for your per-MT landed cost on chemical imports from China, and what you can do about it now.
8 min read
Compliance
The historical 2020 CDR cycle required checking substance, site, volume and exemption rules. This article explains the earlier November 30 planning deadline and later extension, with corrected applicability guidance.
9 min
Market Data
Executive Orders 13942 and 13943 banned certain WeChat and TikTok transactions on August 6. Meanwhile, GACC's July 2020 data shows chemical exports to the US recovering strongly. Here is what the headlines missed and what it means for your Q4 orders.
8 min
Trade Policy
China’s Foreign Ministry dates the US demand to close the Houston consulate to 21 July 2020. China announced the Chengdu closure requirement on 24 July; the consulate closed on 27 July. This article discusses historical supplier access concerns.
July 23, 2020 8 min
Trade Policy
PIIE data shows China on pace for just 23% of its Phase One manufactured goods commitment through H1 2020. Section 301 tariff relief on chemicals is not coming. Here is how to recalculate your landed costs and stop waiting.
7 min
Trade Policy
GACC's April 2020 data shows a +3.5% export rebound, but it was driven by medical equipment, not industrial chemicals. Meanwhile Phase One compliance was collapsing and Trump was threatening new tariffs. Here is what chemical importers needed to know.
7 min
Supply Chain
GACC's March 2020 trade data shows a -6.6% export drop, but chemical buyers face a harder reality. PPE production pivots gutted capacity at Jiangsu, Shandong, and Zhejiang chemical plants. Here is how to verify your supplier is actually running your product, not someone else's.
7 min
Market Data
GACC released February 2020 trade data and it is ugly. China exports fell 17.2% year-on-year, the worst monthly decline since 2008. Here is what the numbers mean for your delayed chemical shipments, why port congestion is the hidden problem, and how to update your Q2 planning models.
7 min read
Supply Chain
Chinese factories are sending force majeure notices as COVID-19 shutdowns extend into February. Here is how to read a CCPIT certificate, what Chinese contract law actually requires, and the specific questions to ask your supplier before accepting any claim.
7 min read
Trade Policy
Phase One is signed but Section 301 tariffs remain at 25% on List 3 chemicals. Here is what the $52.4B purchase commitment actually means for US chemical importers, including the landed cost calculation most people are still getting wrong.
7 min read
No article matches that yet. Try a shorter word, or ask Sourzi the question.
Tell us the chemical, grade and quantity. A person on our team in Shanghai sends you a real, checked factory, and your first one is free.
Get your free Factory Match