U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) held a call with the trade today to discuss the looming ILA/USMX strike situation. They have indicated that, if a strike commences at midnight on October 1st, it will be closely monitored. To prepare, an Emergency Operations Command has been preemptively created at CBP headquarters with the intention to work closely with the PGAs to provide CBP entry staff and members of the trade procedural updates for impacted ports.
CBP has advised that interested parties should monitor their Cargo Systems Messaging Service for the most current updates and communication from CBP. It is their intention to use this system to convey import and export procedural updates to the trade as they become available.
CBP is aware that a strike has the potential to create significant hardships for imports and exports at the impacted and where possible, some regulatory flexibility may be granted. However, involved parties are still expected to maintain compliance and work within all pertinent trade regulations during a strike.
If the strike begins, CBP intends to have additional calls with the trade. Container terminals that could be impacted have begun to issue advisories to the trade and we encourage anyone with cargo that could be impacted to check their terminal and local port authority websites for the most current and up to date information.
If you have additional questions, please contact transitionteamus@willsonintl.com.