Employees from the global trade management software company GTKonnect will join EY member firms in the U.S. and India, the companies said in a news release. “The transaction is part of EY global trade management services expansion,” EY said. Terms of the deal weren't released. “Global trade is undergoing a seismic change as tariff wars, protectionism, regulatory uncertainty and now a pandemic, disrupt established business models and trade relationships,” said Kate Barton, EY global vice chair - tax. “Organizations are struggling to respond and find it increasingly difficult to address their supply chain ecosystems, focus on operational costs and, ultimately, define their medium-to-long-term strategies. We are excited to further expand EY global trade managed service offerings through this strategic transaction.”

The executive director of the Port of Portland, a port that's dominated by exports, said tonnage is down, and while he thinks there will be some rebound later this year, he expects it will take two to three years to fully return to normal. Curtis Robinhold was speaking on a Washington International Trade Association webinar May 21. He said that grain exports are down 10% and automotive goods are down much more sharply -- by 30%. That includes parts for Toyota, Hyundai and Honda that are imported and exports of completed Ford vehicles, he said.

The top executive for customs policy at UPS said the consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic will be that companies “reassess everything” about supply chains. Norm Schenk, executive vice president for customs policy, was on a panel that included the director of corporate customs for a major logistics provider, the head of customs for a major automaker, and the executive director of the Georgia Ports Authority. The panelists, hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on May 19, agreed that even after the crisis is over, trading will not return to how it was.

The value of global trade next quarter is projected to fall 27% compared with the second quarter of 2019, according to a new report coordinated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. The UN was joined by the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the World Trade Organization and the World Bank, among others, to produce the report. Some of that projected drop is due to lower volume of goods, and some of it is due to the price of oil plummeting. The report also found that almost half of international mail is stranded, and that customs clearance times for small packages is taking 32 times as long -- jumping from an average of two hours to 64 hours. The report attributed the slowing of clearance to “availability of labor.”

Trade groups that have been active in pushing for different intellectual property approaches in India have formed a new coalition called the Alliance for Trade Enforcement, they announced May 13. Brian Pomper, a former Senate Finance Committee chief trade counsel, is the AFTE executive director. The group includes manufacturing trade groups, pharmaceutical interests, software and telecom interests, and the National Foreign Trade Council and U.S. Council for International Business. They noted that the Special 301 Report recently released by the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative identified 33 countries that don't adequately protect IP rights, and said “many of those countries are repeat offenders.” Pomper said AFTE will work with the administration and Congress to dismantle trade barriers such as high tariffs, complex and opaque taxes targeting imports, and laws that do not give intellectual property the protection that USTR says is proper.

Container volumes through the Port of Los Angeles fell 30.9% year-on-year in March, marking the lowest amount of cargo moving through the port in a month since February 2009, said the Port of Los Angeles in a recent news release. The deep decline comes as a result not only of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China, said Gene Seroka, executive director of the port. “With U.S. retailers and cargo owners scaling back orders, volumes are soft even though factories in China are beginning to produce more. Amidst this public health crisis, there will be uncertain months ahead in the global supply chain,” Seroka said. Imports for the month decreased by 25.9% compared with March 2019, and exports by 23.8%. Empty containers declined by 44.5%, the release said.

After 47,000 stores in the U.S. closed in a week, Flexport says that so many companies can't take shipments arriving at East Coast ports that those ports are now shopping for more warehouse space. Because importing companies' warehouses are either full or closed, they tell the ports they'll pay demurrage charges for the goods to stay there. “The ports are actually worried now they won’t have enough space,” said Chandrakant Kanoria, Flexport's head of network operations, during a webinar March 31. He said Savannah is hoping to almost double its warehouse space, and the New York and New Jersey terminals are talking with warehouse providers to try to make room, as well. There are problems in the warehouse logistics ecosystem, as well, because Amazon warehouses stopped accepting any goods other than essentials.

The American Association of Exporters and Importers is asking the Trump administration to help importers and exporters deal with the impact of COVID-19 response measures, whether that impact is a cash crunch, the effects of telework or business decisions made in response to delays in shipments from China. The group is asking the administration to extend the time to respond to regulatory notices that are paper based, including entry filings deadlines, because telecommuting makes it more difficult to manage the paper flow. It is also asking CBP to extend the protest period for customs duties and decisions.

As more local shelter-in-place orders are issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, brokers and forwarders should examine each order to determine whether their services are exempt, the National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America said in an email. “However, based upon the Order to Shelter in Place issued by the Public Health Officer of Alameda County, California two days ago, it would seem that the activities of forwarders and customs brokers would fall within the exemption provided, as those activities are essential to keep goods moving in commerce,” it said. Exempted services include “shipping services, companies that supply other essential businesses with supplies necessary to operate or that ship goods or services to residences, and companies that are engaged in public transportation,” it said.

The American Association of Port Authorities canceled its March 17-19 conference in Washington, D.C., to protect the health of attendees.