Workers at several major North American ports are on strike, exacerbating congestion and container shortages...

The congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has not eased, and strikes have begun again ...

According to feedback from freight forwarders, U.S. ocean freight rates are showing signs of rising again. Previously, congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach had not eased, and now there are strikes. In addition to the United States, there are also strikes in Canada in North America, further exacerbating port congestion.

Strike at US and Canadian ports worsens shipping delays

Shipping has been very turbulent this year. First there was congestion, and then the Evergreen cargo ship accident pushed up transportation costs. Now the congestion problem has not been completely solved, and the strike has started again.

Recently, with the strike of dock workers at two major North American ports, Los Angeles in the United States and Montreal in Canada, North American shipping delays have further worsened.

Conflicts between logistics companies and truck drivers spread to Los Angeles and Long Beach ports

The congestion at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has not eased, and the strike has started again!

On Monday, port truck drivers in California (Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports) began a strike.

The strike was reportedly by truck drivers at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, represented by the Teamsters union, against Universal Logistics Holdings (ULH).

On Wednesday, Los Angeles dockworkers stopped servicing trucks owned by Universal Logistics Holdings in solidarity with truckers who went on strike on Monday. The Teamsters union said some drivers were fired after they voted to form a union. Philip Sanfield of the Port of Los Angeles said one of the port's seven terminals was experiencing "minimal to moderate disruptions" as workers "did not service trucks targeted by the truckers."

The Teamsters were joined in the action by members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union .

According to the Teamsters union, the strike was due to ULH-owned companies "illegally firing truck drivers, refusing to pay drivers back pay, and refusing to negotiate with the union on the matter" at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The Port of Los Angeles continues to make progress in reducing a cargo backlog that peaked in late January and early February .

It is not difficult to see from the above that the congestion at US ports is easing, but if the strike continues, it will seriously affect container transportation at US western ports, further aggravating cargo congestion and shipping delays.

Montreal port workers go on strike after talks fail

In fact, some industry media had already warned that dock workers at Montreal, the largest port in eastern Canada, would go on strike.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the employer have been at loggerheads over working hours since the port's labour contract expired in late 2018, with the confrontation escalating into industrial action last summer that paralysed much of the port's operations and caused severe supply chain disruptions that took two months to clear.

Earlier reports indicated that if no agreement was reached in contract negotiations on March 21 this year , dock workers would go on strike at this port, which handled 35 million tons of cargo and commodities in 2020.

Recently, there were reports that the negotiations failed and the dock workers and employers failed to reach an agreement.

According to foreign media reports, after 30 months of negotiations between dock workers and employers , a partial strike broke out at the Port of Montreal on April 13.

Greg Northey, vice-president of corporate affairs at Pulse Canada , said talks did pick up last summer when 15 strikes took place, including one that lasted 10 days in August. No deal was reached during that time, but both sides agreed to a six-month truce that ended in late March.

After the truce ended, the union decided on Tuesday to begin a partial strike, which means workers will no longer work overtime and will not work weekends starting this weekend.

Logistics experts say that could exacerbate congestion elsewhere in North America and further hinder shipping at a time when shipping costs are surging and delays are looming.

Many small and medium-sized businesses rely on Montreal to transport goods, Canada's most populous region, where dockworkers handled 1.6 million containers last year , carrying 35 million metric tons of goods and merchandise. About two-thirds of that tonnage was bulk products such as oil, fertilizer and iron ore.

We know that after the Suez Canal blockage ended two weeks ago, some of the congested ships will arrive at North American ports. At that time, a large number of ships will flock to it, coupled with port strikes, and the severity of delays and congestion will be foreseeable.

Owe 1 pound in tax, and end up paying nearly 3,000 pounds

In addition to congestion at North American ports, Amazon VAT has also caused some incomprehensible problems.

For example, a seller said on Weibo that a seller who shipped goods for 6.99 pounds on Amazon UK last year had to pay 2,990 pounds in taxes because he did not pay 1 pound in tax in time. Faced with this situation, he had no choice but to close the store. However, this operation was very confusing. The 1 pound snowballed to 2,990 pounds. I don’t know what went wrong. When the seller declared the goods, he also declared 0 for self-delivery. He also paid the tariff through the payment tool in March, and then received a ticket.

Sellers are talking about this: "Why not just run away?"; "So I have to check the tax agent's backend frequently in the future. There are no SMS notifications, and it is easy to ignore the emails from the British tax authorities."; "My freight forwarder told me that I don't have to pay taxes if I ship the goods myself."

If sellers want to continue to invest in Amazon, they should still follow the VAT requirements of the tax bureau, because the tax bureau's management will only become more and more strict.

It is important to know that, whether it is self-delivery or FBA, if the sales amount is less than 135 pounds, Amazon will collect it on your behalf. If it is more than 135 pounds, you need to pay it yourself. Therefore, whether it is self-delivery or FBA sellers, you must actively apply for VAT and prepare in advance. If the seller is an overseas warehouse, you must register VAT if you have inventory.

The following are the documents required for VAT registration : Documents required for UK VAT registration: business license, legal person ID card, store link; Documents required for EU VAT registration: business license, legal person ID card, store link, authorization letter (signed and stamped), corporate credit report, etc. The specific requirements will depend on the country of registration.

In addition, Amazon recently stated that it will fully pay European VAT on behalf of sellers starting from July 1. Amazon stated in an email that starting from July 1, 2021, 27 EU countries and regions will implement new VAT rules for e-commerce sales, which will squeeze sellers' profits.