We use cookies to provide you with a better experience. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies in accordance with our Cookie Policy.
  • ::COVID-19 COVERAGE::
  • INDUSTRY PRESS ROOM
  • ABOUT
  • CONTACT
  • MEDIA FILE
  • Create Account
  • Sign In
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Free Newsletters
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
  • MAGAZINE
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Digital Edition
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • TRANSPORTATION
  • MATERIAL HANDLING
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • LIFT TRUCKS
  • PODCAST ETC
    • Subscriptions
    • Podcast
    • Webcasts
    • Blogs
      • Analytics & Big Data
      • Best Practices
      • Change Me
      • Empowering Your Performance Edge
      • The Logistics of Defense
      • Logistics Problem Solving
      • One-Off Sound Off
      • Public Sector Logistics
      • Two Sides of the Logistics Coin
      • Submit your blog post
    • Events
    • White Papers
    • Industry Press Room
      • Upload Your News
    • New Products
      • Upload Your Product News
    • Conference Guides
    • Conference Reports
    • Newsletters
    • Mobile Apps
  • DCV-TV
    • DCV-TV 1: News
    • DCV-TV 2: Case Studies
    • DCV-TV 3: Webcasts
    • DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
    • DCV-TV 5: Solution Profiles
    • MODEX 2020
    • Upload Your Video
Home » Retailers turn to trade advisors to navigate impact of China tariffs
newsworthy

Retailers turn to trade advisors to navigate impact of China tariffs

May 14, 2019
Ben Ames
No Comments

The Trump administration's escalating trade war with China quickly triggered sharp warnings from retailers this week about the negative impacts of rising tariffs. But even as those regulations begin to bite global trade, they may also be increasing demand for providers of certain trade compliance services and supply chain management software.

Both the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) issued statements Monday condemning the White House's move on May 10 to boost tariffs on approximately $300 billion worth of U.S. imports from China, saying the strategy "will jeopardize American jobs and increase costs for consumers," and calling it "a self-inflicted wound that will be catastrophic for the nation's economy."

In a move to provide guidance for companies wrangling with those pressing issues, logistics companies like the freight broker and third-party logistics provider (3PL) C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. and enterprise software provider Oracle Corp. said today that their services could help users handle the impact of the tariffs.

Previous rounds of tariffs have already impacted cash flows for logistics providers in the past six months, according to Eden Prairie, Minn.-based C.H. Robinson. The higher tariffs have crimped income for U.S. exporters (especially in agricultural products) who have seen their China sales drop, and they have triggered a jump in cash consumption for U.S. importers who have to come up with extra money to pay increased duty payments at the border, C.H. Robinson's director for government affairs, Jason Craig, wrote in a blog today.

"Uncertainty abounds; current policies and rules (in addition to new ones) may or may not be in effect six months, one year, or five years from now. Therefore, for many businesses, scenario planning increasingly appears to be essential," Craig wrote in the blog. As businesses grapple with the shifting impacts of the tariffs, C.H. Robinson says it can provide that scenario planning, using its broad market perspective "to see end-to-end impacts and help manage our customers' complete supply chains in unpredictable times."

The company advises its clients to bring their transportation provider and customs broker into their planning conversations, in order to assess the transportation costs of new lanes, new suppliers, and shifting regulatory and compliance concerns. That approach can help companies to mitigate risk and find opportunity by applying close collaboration, deep business intelligence, and proactive planning, C.H. Robinson said.

Likewise, Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle said today that its Supply Chain Management (SCM) Cloud could help users improve responsiveness, optimize shipments and asset utilization, and improve productivity. Oracle said that a series of logistics management updates to the platform includes a new logistics network modeling product and enhanced transportation management and global trade management capabilities.

"With global trade policies in flux, organizations of all sizes are struggling to make sense of changing regulations and unstable global duty rates," Derek Gittoes, Oracle's vice president for SCM Product Strategy, said in a release. "To help our customers combat global trade instability and improve efficiency, while lowering costs and minimizing risk, we have introduced a series of updates.

Those updates enable customers to better support trade compliance and customs processes, such as country of origin management, or certificate management associated with trade agreements, allowing them to practice more effective use of preferential trade agreements, the company said.

"Disruptions due to customer demand volatility, new product introductions, government regulation changes, and a host of other factors, leave supply chain professionals struggling to adapt," Gittoes said. "To eliminate this guessing game of how best to respond, we are giving our customers the insights they need to improve decision making and increase efficiency of logistics operations."

Supply Chain Services Global Logistics Business Management & Finance
KEYWORDS C.H. Robinson National Retail Federation Oracle
  • Related Articles

    Retailers throttle back imports after rush to beat China tariffs, holiday peak

    Leaving China to avoid tariffs? Look before you leap

    Trade conference offers updates on customs policies, China tariffs, cargo insurance

Benames
Ben Ames has spent 20 years as a journalist since starting out as a daily newspaper reporter in Pennsylvania in 1995. From 1999 forward, he has focused on business and technology reporting for a number of trade journals, beginning when he joined Design News and Modern Materials Handling magazines. Ames is author of the trail guide "Hiking Massachusetts" and is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism.

Recent Articles by Ben Ames

CN offers $33.7 billion to one-up rival’s bid for Kansas City Southern railway

Social issues become a new logistics KPI

Catching the boomerang

You must login or register in order to post a comment.

Report Abusive Comment

Most Popular Articles

  • Roadrunner Freight bolsters LTL capabilities with $50 million in new backing

  • Southeastern Freight Lines Promotes Marty Cox to Service Center Manager in Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Pull back or go deeper—how the pandemic influenced shipper-3PL engagement

  • Boston Dynamics trials box-lifting robot for unloading trucks

  • The growing crisis in agriculture exports: interview with Peter Friedmann

Now Playing on DCV-TV

0a4ad66a 2005 4164 a0fa a1cd5a5133c9

Automated Package Handling with Mobile Robots

DCV-TV 4: Viewer Contributed
Discover sensor solutions that allow you to use AGCs or AGVs with your conveyors to enhance your logistics operations.

FEATURED WHITE PAPERS

  • Special Report: Supply Chain Trends in Retail & Consumer Goods

  • Fortify Your Operational Resilience

  • Cold Storage Automation: Leveraging Advanced Technologies to Meet Increasing Demand

  • The modern warehouse: Maximizing productivity and capacity

View More

Subscribe to DC Velocity Magazine

GET YOUR FREE SUBSCRIPTION
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ADVERTISING
  • CUSTOMER CARE
  • CONTACT
  • ABOUT
  • STAFF
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright ©2021. All Rights ReservedDesign, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing