The shutdown is affecting more things than most would expect.

“While the partial US government shutdown isn’t disrupting the clearance of cargo, customs brokers are increasingly worried that smaller pinches, ranging from the proper coding of commodities to errors in paperwork, will become frequent and larger if federal workers remain furloughed much longer.

There is also a possibility that port authorities would have to shell out additional money to pay US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for overtime and extended weekend inspections since the shutdown coincides with the Chinese New Year surge of volume. Reimbursing CBP is not an issue that only occurs during a shutdown. The Section 559 Program was enacted in 2014, allowing CBP to be reimbursed by port authorities for extra hours on the job.”

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