Blog/News

CBP Issues Regionwide Withhold Order Xingang China Cotton and Tomato Products

Effective January 13, 2021, the CBP has issued a Withhold Release Order (WRO) that all U.S. ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will detain cotton products and tomato products produced in China’s Xinjian Uygur Autonomous Region. The WRO will detain the following products from China’s Xinjian Uygur: Apparel, textiles, tomato seeds, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and other goods made with cotton and tomatoes.

The CBP will begin detaining shipments that “exploit forced labor laws at any point in their supply chain, including the production or harvesting of the raw material”. The agency identified the following forced labor indicators through the course of its investigation: debt bondage, restriction of movement, isolation, intimidation and threats, withholding of wages, and abusive living and working conditions.

Notice of WRO 1/13/2021

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/national-media-release/cbp-issues-region-wide-withhold-release-orderproducts-made-slave

CBP Forced Labor Information

https://www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/forcedlabor?_ga=2.198706028.2124264278.1610577086-1520727500.1541643165

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at contact@expresstradecapital.com.


Reminder – ETC Upcoming Holiday Hours

Important Upcoming Information:

Due to the upcoming Federal Holiday, our office will be closed Monday, January 18th, 2021.

Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience


Reminder – ETC Upcoming Holiday Hours

Important Upcoming Information:

Due to the upcoming holiday, our office will be closing Wednesday, November 25th at 3 PM and will re-open Monday, November 30th.

Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience.


Reminder – ETC Upcoming Federal Holiday Hours

Important Upcoming Information

Due to the upcoming Federal Holiday, our office will be closed on Monday, October 12th.

Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience.


ETC – Announcement

Important Upcoming Information:

On Monday, September 28, there will be no funding available of any-kind (including the issuance of LC’s).

Please advise, we are still open to handle all other client relations.

Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame.

We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience.


Reminder – ETC Upcoming Federal Holiday Hours

Important Upcoming Information

Due to the upcoming Federal Holiday, our office will be closing at 3PM on Friday, September 4th through Monday, September 7th.

Please contact your account officer to plan accordingly during this time frame,

We greatly appreciate your understanding and apologize for any inconvenience


How Letters of Credit Can Benefit Your Business During COVID-19

By: Dina Davletshina, New Business Development

COVID-19 has disrupted nearly every part of our lives. Yes, the public health consequences are tragic. But along with this, small and large businesses alike are feeling significant economic pain. Companies in the consumer goods industry are encountering significant supply chain challenges and quickly shifting consumer spending habits. The retail and the apparel apparel industry in particular are facing their own share of supply chain challenges. The list goes on and on.

During times of such economic upheaval and uncertainty, normalcy disappears, once reliable customers start canceling orders and ask for extended payment terms. Stores suddenly close and it’s unclear whether they will ever open again. Shipping delays become more common and trading partners less flexible.

In this climate, all businesses need to reduce their risk to survive this economic storm. One way to do this is to leverage financial instruments like letters of credit (LCs), which can help achieve the highest risk-adjusted returns.

How Letters of Credit Can Benefit Your Business

Letters of credit offer businesses substantial advantages that are amplified by the uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

Supply chain risks and cancelled orders are a greater risk in this global pandemic, so letters of credit can give you more confidence that you’ll actually get paid.

Most prominently, letters of credit minimize risk for both buyers and sellers. Buyers are that their goods are shipped and documentation is in order before submitting payment. Sellers get the confidence they need to ship goods to their buyers.

Letters of credit are also helpful because they free up capital for both buyers and sellers. By using an LC, buyers do not need to leave deposits to start production. Instead, the LC is opened for the transaction’s full value, letting buyers more efficiently allocate their capital. Suppliers can then borrow against their letter of credit, which can provide them with more liquidity before the transaction closes. It is a win-win for both buyers and suppliers. 

Buyers and sellers may be transacting with new parties or others they may not fully trust, letters of credit can include provisions that must be satisfied before the transaction is completed. This can include everything from inspection of the delivered goods to specific delivery times. These provisions can ensure that your goods arrive in the precise manner that you expect – if they don’t, you have the option to reject the goods without payment or to seek a discount for the suppliers errors-

Helping Business Go Forward

It’s unclear when the COVID-19 crisis will end. In the meantime, business has become inherently riskier. There’s a greater chance that your suppliers and customers won’t pay for your goods and services. Because of this, letters of credit can help you continue business as usual while minimizing risk and preserving cash flow. For these reasons, we encourage you to leverage LCs when possible throughout this global pandemic.

At Express Trade Capital, we are happy to help you leverage all the the benefits of letters of credit. Banks require you to jump through several hoops (like collateral requirements or a prior credit relationship with the bank) to obtain a letter of credit. At Express Trade Capital, we have removed these restrictions by allowing clients to use our already existing LC facilities with out banks, thereby allowing you to quickly obtain LCs for your specific business needs without onboarding to a bank.

To learn more about how we can help you, don’t hesitate to click here.


An Update to Our Clients

Dear Valued Client:

Due to the market disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus, many stores are postponing, rejecting and even canceling orders, while others are delaying payment on existing receivables. We understand that these issues will cause cash flow problems for many of our clients.

We are here to help you where possible, but many businesses will need additional capital to make it through the next few months. We strongly encourage affected business owners to make short term loans to their businesses to cover these immediate cash needs.

There are also federal, state and local public resources available:

  • For assistance outside of New York, please check with your state and local agencies as well as local SBA offices (listed at the bottom of the SBA website provided)

We encourage you to research all your options, reach out to your account officer to discuss any issues you are facing and let us know how we can help you during these challenging times.

Update as of 3/24/2020: As a reminder no client is allowed to grant any additional payment terms to any customer without the prior written authorization of the respective Re-factor.



Essential Updates for Businesses & Individuals

As each new day unfolds during the current COVID-19 crisis, we are continuing to keep you updated on important information that we believe is relevant.

We encourage you to research all your options and reach out to your account officer to discuss any issues you are facing and let us know how we can help you during these challenging times.

Financial Assistance Programs

Due to the market disruption caused by the COVID-19 virus, many stores are postponing, rejecting and even canceling orders, while others are delaying payment on existing receivables. We understand that these issues will cause cash flow problems for many of our clients.

There are federal, state and local public resources available to help businesses that are experiencing COVID-19 issues:

•  The Small Business Administration offers consulting and loan programs to help small businesses: https://www.sba.gov/page/coronavirus-covid-19-small-business-guidance-loan-resources

•  For NYC based businesses, NYC Small Business Services offer programs that include interest free loans and grants to help small businesses cover payroll and other necessary expenses: https://www1.nyc.gov/site/sbs/businesses/covid19-business-outreach.page

•  For assistance outside of New York, please check with your state and local agencies as well as local SBA offices (listed at the bottom of the SBA website provided)

Duty Extensions

US Customs and Border Protection is accepting requests for a 7-day duty payment extension. Interested parties should send requests (name of importer and IOR#) to Director Randy Mitchell at randy.mitchell@cbp.dhs.gov.

The National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA), an industry group serving importers and exporters, has asked Customs for a 90-day tolling or deferral period, and Customs is considering the request.

IRS Pushes Tax Date to July 15

At a press conference held late Friday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the in addition to the extension on the Federal tax payment deadline, the filing deadline has also been delayed by 90 days.

•  This postponement applies to any individuals, trusts, estates, partnerships, associations, and companies or corporations.

•  Taxpayers do not have to file Forms 4868 or 7004 for an extension.

•  There is no limitation on the amount of the payment that may be postponed.

•  No interest or penalty is due during the 90-day extension. 

•  Interest & penalties on postponed Federal income tax filings and payments will begin to accrue on July 16, 2020.

State Filings

State filing information is still being updated for all states, including New York. For further information on State filing updates, check out : https://www.aicpa.org/content/dam/aicpa/advocacy/tax/downloadabledocuments/coronavirus-state-filing-relief.pdf.


CBP CONSIDERING DUTY PAYMENT EXTENSIONS

In response to the difficulties facing American businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated control measures, Customs and Border Protection is contemplating granting relief to importers.  In consideration of requests from the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association Customs Committee, chaired by GEODIS’ SVP of Trade Services and Government Relations Mary Jo Muoio, along with other industry group requests, CBP is looking at ways to provide flexibility to and extensions for a wide variety of deadlines importers face with customs obligations.

Specifically, CBP is considering granting a ninety-day extension of duty payments.  At this time CBP is working to understand authorities and mechanisms which may allow this and specifics are not available. In the meantime, CBP is reviewing extraordinary requests on a case-by-case basis.  As of today, lacking specific individual permissions, duty and related obligations remain in place.  We expect more information in the near future and will alert our clients as soon as known. If you would like to seek temporary duty-payment relief from CBP, please contact us immediately.  Initially, this relief would be for importers having duty payments due in the next week; if broader CBP issued extensions are not granted, we will pursue additional case-by-case requests.

 If you have questions about your duty payments, bond obligations or challenges meeting other CBP commitments, contact your account representative at Express Trade Capital, Inc.