525 S. Douglas St. , #100• El Segundo, CA 90245 • (310) 607-8000
It’s more important than ever to have a professional logistics provider working with your fireworks supply chain.

With delays, pricing extremes, equipment shortages, and driver difficulties due to ELD regulations, there are innumerable issues facing shippers with fireworks carriers and importers dealing with problems that could cause critical failures along the supply chain as we move into the season of outdoor celebrations. It bears mentioning that after the pandemic-induced shutdown of 2020, many communities are planning larger than normal celebrations this summer to welcome their citizenry back to the semblance of the normalcy of years before the coronavirus brought the world to its knees. Fortunately, there are multitudes at work to deal with these issues head-on in an attempt to protect the festivities from shipping and carrier issues we’ve foreseen in advance.
USDA AND APHIS CRACK DOWN ON BREEDERS
As the Animal Welfare Act impacts every dog imported into the US to be resold, many breeders are trying to subvert this step by claiming the dogs are pets and not products being sold to a final home. The USDA is cracking down on the process and has specific rules and regulations that must be followed.

We have heard from several sources that USDA is really pushing the permit requirement for those Breeders who are importing repeatedly, but saying they are personal pets. At Coppersmith, we're invested in the safe importation of dogs and pets and happy to help you navigate the complex world of government agencies. Let us take the guesswork out of your pet shipments and contact us today for help.
FSVP Importer Portal open for submission
The FDA opened the FSVP Importer Portal for FSVP Records Submission Portal for importers of human and animal food. This portal will serve as a more streamlined way for importers to submit documentation electronically. Importers with an active FDA Account ID and password can access the Portal on the FDA’s Unified Registration and Listing System (FURLS) page*. An importer without an existing account can create one from the FURLS page. A User Guide for the Portal is available on the FURLS page.
NEWS FROM COPPERSMITH
COPPERSMITH WISHES YOU A HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY
Coppersmith will observe Memorial Day on May 31st and our office will be closed. While we know that families will take this time to spend some much-needed (hopefully vaccinated) time together, please keep the men and women of our armed services in your thoughts as we remember and honor them this day. All gave some but some gave all and we are indebted to them.
For Ocean Shippers: United States coasts are overloaded with imports especially on the US west coast. As the LA/LB ports struggle to play catch up with their backlogs of cargo, transpacific rates continue to soar, coming in at more than twice what rates were last year. Port director Gene Siroka has gone on record to explain the way the port is catching up on the backlog. The best way for our clients to navigate the issues facing ocean freight is to be flexible and work with your Coppersmith representative to determine the best routing for your cargo. There are ways to avoid the Los Angeles area and subvert the bottlenecks that are plaguing rail, truck, and parcel distribution from the west inland.
Forced Labor Update:
CBP has denied the appeal by an apparel importer challenging their forced labor Withold release orders covering cotton and cotton products (among others) produced in Xinjiang, China due to forced labor concerns in the area. CBP found that the importer failed to present evidence that was substantial enough to prove that the importer used an entity that produced items with raw cotton found outside the forced labor WRO. Because there weren't adequate records kept about the production of the garments in every stage of the creation process, the apparel company couldn't absolutely prove they were free of forced labor connections.

Cargo owners are looking for an intervention regarding the terrible service and skyrocketing rates from carriers, who are typically blaming the coronavirus pandemic for issues with capacity, equipment and service failings happening around the world. The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) said network disruption and months of congestion at ports had “wreaked havoc for US exporters and importers, costing them billions in higher shipping costs, demurrage and detention charges and lost business, with still no clear end in sight”.
If you can’t get a container, you can’t move your international cargo — and containers have never been harder to get. The accessibility of equipment depends on how many containers exist.
How many exist is controlled by China. Virtually every ocean shipping container in the world is built there. 
Chinese factories now build more than 96% of the world’s dry cargo containers and 100% of the world’s refrigerated containers, and just 3 companies control all the boxes being made in total.
The fire on a feeder vessel from Sri Lanka is still burning but there hasn't been any loss of life and reports are that crew injuries are minimal as fire suppression efforts are underway to prevent spreading to other sections of the ship. The X-Press Pearl is a 2700 teu ship that runs between the Singapore and Middle East ports which caught fire on May 19th when chemicals in the containers caught fire from the heat. This is the sixth story we've heard of a fire or other losses and we strongly urge readers to make sure their cargo is insured