Fifteen trade groups in the U.S. and the EU, led by a German machinery manufacturing organization, are asking the EU and the U.S. to settle their differences over American tariffs on steel and aluminum, and if they cannot by the end of the year, "at the very least, ensure that tariffs will not be reimposed if an agreement is not reached by the January 2024 deadline, even if this means that the deadline is extended." Technically, the two sides gave themselves an Oct. 31, 2023, deadline, but said that even if a deal was not reached by then, tariffs could not return until January 2024.

The Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Trade Justice Education Fund and two other environmental nonprofits are asking the Biden administration not to challenge the EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM, at the World Trade Organization.

Tecma bought and will merge with NCH Customs Brokers, it said in a Sept. 28 news release. "This is a significant step for NCH, as the global realignment is bringing increased opportunities to our border region," NCH founder and President Nelson Calzadilla said in a statement. “Tecma brings the support and scale NCH has needed to respond and compete in this ever-changing environment."

Returning Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen announced he’s “rescinding a bunch of signed offer letters for people who were starting as soon as this Monday.” He made the announcement Sept. 8 on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said a “Flexport team member will reach out to each of you personally asap to explain the move.”

Correction: Ryan Petersen is returning to Flexport as CEO of the multinational freight forwarder, following the departure of previous CEO Dave Clark on Sept. 6, Petersen said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter (see 2309070057).

While the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and other factors have led to uncertainty and a "more complex risk environment" for imports, some companies have found strategies to "effectively navigate" this environment, law firm Bradley said in a new blog post. Some of those strategies included being "proactive" in engaging their original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), in developing "internal protocols" to monitor their supply chains, in incorporating "traceability audits," in finding "backup sourcing" and in shifting risk of "non-performance" to "downstream parties" or OEMs, Bradley said.

Ryan Petersen is returning to Flexport as CEO of the multinational freight forwarder, following the departure of previous CEO Dave Clark on Sept. 6, Petersen said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. In a letter to Flexport employees included in the post, he said that “it’s clear that important changes are needed to sustain our growth and return to profitability.”

Analysts from the Tax Foundation and from the Center for Strategic and International Studies said that hiking tariffs on all imports by 10% would not boost domestic manufacturing, with CSIS's Bill Reinsch noting "you would be hard pressed to find an economist who thinks they make any sense."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce's senior vice president for international policy said that when the trade ministers for the G-20 nations meet in India later this week, they should pledge not to hike tariffs, impose new export restraints or add digital trade barriers.

Canadian mining company GobiMin is "pleased" that the Canadian Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise (CORE) has "declined to pursue an investigation of GobiMin’s activities and that it recognized that GobiMin engaged in good faith with the CORE’s initial assessment," a company spokesperson said in an Aug. 22 email.