The "strong divisions” on how to approach NAFTA between the deal’s three parties are increasing the possibility that a deal can’t be reached in the near term, and companies should start making contingency plans, said Russ Crawford, partner at KPMG in Canada, in a Sept. 18 press release. Businesses should put together a “Survival Guide” for the next six months to prepare for an “uncertain outcome,” Crawford recommended. Crawford is advising firms to become scenario planners if they are not already, and to develop contingency plans for any business and supply chains, should the U.S. withdraw from the deal, “however unlikely.” He added: “An example may be to have a back-up plan mapped out to the extent possible if there was an X percent increase in tariffs, or a Y percent change in regional (or even country specific) content.”

Amber Road added support for Partner Government Agency filing requirements within its trade management platform, the company said in a Sept. 13 news release. “Many countries are moving to the Single Window concept, which will require both accurate and real-time information to be presented to Customs at time of entry,” said Nathan Pieri, chief product officer for Amber Road. “This places an incredible burden on the importer related to the collection and maintenance of these compliance-related data elements; in fact, one of the PGAs requires over 450 validations. The Amber Road Import solution offers comprehensive master data management support for PGAs and can be implemented with any existing [enterprise resource planning] solution to help a supply chain team deal with the challenges of complying with the ever-changing ACE PGA initiative.”

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposes “in the strongest possible terms” any U.S. withdrawal from the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, Chamber CEO Tom Donohue said in a statement. Since KORUS entered into force in 2012, U.S. aerospace exports have doubled to total $8 billion, and agricultural exports have “soared” since double-digit tariffs have started to phase out. This “is why nearly every major U.S. agricultural group strongly supports the agreement,” Donohue said. “Ironically, states across mid-America that voted for the president would take the hit from withdrawal as their agricultural and manufactured goods exports fell in the wake of such a move.”

C.H. Robinson bought a Canadian customs brokerage for about $50 million in cash, the company said in a news release. Milgram, headquartered in Montreal, has about 330 employees, six Canadian offices and one office in the U.S., it said. The sale is effective Sept. 1. Milgram had about $124 million in gross revenue for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2017, C.H. Robinson said. “This acquisition continues our global expansion and marks our third Global Forwarding acquisition in the past five years," C.H. Robinson CEO John Wiehoff said. "We are extremely proud of the progress we have made in bringing these companies into C.H. Robinson, and Milgram provides another unique opportunity to strengthen our global forwarding and customs brokerage offerings in Canada." Milgram's management team will stay on to support the transition, Milgram CEO Jay Goldman said in a note to customers. "While our staff, management, carriers and processes will remain mostly unchanged, we are very excited about the opportunities this presents to our loyal employees, our suppliers and our customers as we look forward to the next chapter in Milgram’s sixty-six year history," Goldman said.

A new study suggests Americans, on average, have a “measured view” of NAFTA, showing that 57 percent of the 2,000 adults surveyed believe withdrawing from the deal would increase everyday goods prices, and that 45 percent of respondents view NAFTA as a contributor to economic growth. The study, ordered by Livingston International and conducted online by Harris Poll, also indicated that 17 percent of respondents believe NAFTA should be left as is to protect key industries, 19 percent believe the U.S. made the right decision to renegotiate the deal because of modernization needs, and that 13 percent of Americans believe the Trump administration is correct in renegotiating the deal because it is unfair to the U.S.

More than 100 trade associations on Aug. 8 urged the Trump administration to work to upgrade NAFTA investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) provisions during upcoming renegotiations. A letter sent to U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn says the renegotiations provide an opportunity to enhance U.S. protection and enforcement tools against the “theft, discrimination and unfair treatment of U.S. property overseas.” Foreign investment allows U.S. companies to establish unique distribution networks to deliver products directly, tailor products to local consumers, and earn sales more efficiently, the groups said. With those investments, businesses in the United States also see additional advantages, as exports of U.S. goods are more often included in foreign infrastructure and natural resource development when those projects include American investment, the organizations said. Trade groups that signed the letter include the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the American Petroleum Institute and the Express Association of America.

July and August could be two of the busiest months ever for imports at the nation’s major retail container ports, possibly setting a new record as merchants enter the back-to-school period and begin to stock up for the holiday season, the National Retail Federation said July 10 (here). “We’re expecting retailers to import some of the largest volumes of merchandise ever,” Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president-supply chain and customs policy, said in a statement. “That’s a good indicator of what could be ahead for consumer demand and retail sales, and it’s a sign that retail is going strong despite what you might read in the headlines.” Ports included in NRF’s Global Port Tracker database handled 1.72 million 20-foot container equivalents (TEU) in May, up 7.3 percent over April and 6.2 percent over May 2016, NRF said. It estimates 1.66 million TEU were handled in June, up 5.3 percent from the same month a year earlier. The group forecasts 1.75 million TEU will be handled in August, which would be up 2.2 percent from last August and be the highest monthly volume recorded since NRF began tracking imports in 2000, it said.

China Ocean Shipping (Group) Company (COSCO) has made a provisional offer to acquire Orient Overseas (International) Limited, parent of Overseas International Container Line (OOCL), the two companies said in a joint press release (here). The bid is conditioned on regulatory approval and COSCO shareholders. If the merger is completed, the combined entity “will become one of the world's leading container shipping companies with more than 400 vessels and capacity exceeding 2.9 million TEU,” though COSCO and OOCL would continue to operate under their respective brands as part of the Ocean Alliance, they said. “Prior to the completion of the offer, COSCO SHIPPING Lines and OOCL shall adhere to the requirements of regulatory bodies, comply with international anti-trust regulations, rigorously fulfill services contracts and commitments to customers and provide professional, efficient, reliable and consistent service as always,” COSCO said in a notice to customers (here).

SHANGHAI -- Consumer Technology Association President Gary Shapiro walked a line between hope and disappointment at the CES Asia trade show June 8 on the Trump administration’s trade policies, during Q&A in a media briefing. In response to a question on what he would like to see from the Trump administration on trade, Shapiro said, “We were very disappointed that he pulled out of the Trans-Pacific agreement,” saying the Trans-Pacific Partnership was a “zero-tariff deal among 20 countries.” The administration’s trade stance is “not as terrible as some of us had feared, but it’s not as good as it could be still -- especially with the importance of trade to our future,” Shapiro said.

Business Roundtable (BRT) Chairman Jamie Dimon, in partnership with Business Council of Canada Chairwoman Linda Hasenfratz and Consejo Mexicano de Negocios (Mexican Business Council) Chairman Alejandro Ramirez Magana, hosted a meeting of U.S., Canadian and Mexican business leaders in Washington on June 7, BRT announced (here). The organizations in a joint statement said a new NAFTA should account for e-commerce, the digital economy and competition from state-owned enterprises. “We urge our governments to preserve and build on NAFTA’s proven benefits for businesses, workers and consumers,” the statement says. “Negotiators must take care not to erect new barriers to the $1.3 trillion in trade across our borders. Equally, they must avoid disrupting supply chains that enable our companies and workers to produce globally competitive goods and services.”