The government shutdown began on Saturday at 12:01am. Here is a list of several agencies involved in trade and transportation issues that will be affected.
International Trade Commission
The International Trade Commission will only have three to seven individuals working during the shutdown in order to protect life and property. The six Commissioners are presidential appointees and therefore are exempt from the furlough.
Department of Commerce
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration has halted all of its investigations of anti-dumping and countervailing duties during the shutdown. All due dates will be rescheduled after the government re-opens. The Department will only have 10% of its staff working during the shutdown. The Census Bureau’s Automated Export System (AES) will be operational through the Customs and Border Protection ACE website.
United States Trade Representative
USTR is housed within the Executive Office of the President, which allows it more leeway in determining the number of essential employees. As the next round of NAFTA renegotiations start on Tuesday in Montreal, the agency will be bringing a noticeably smaller team of “nonexcepted” personnel to the round.
Customs and Border Protection
Customs and Border Protection functions relating to filing import/export documents and collecting revenues remain ongoing. Similarly, ACE remains operational, including features for filing and reviewing protests. Additionally, we understand that personnel in Fines, Penalties & Forfeitures will remain at work. Personnel in the Office of Regulations and Rulings at Customs Headquarters are furloughed, which could affect the timely issuance of rulings and decisions on a wide range of requests.
Federal Maritime Commission
All Commission activities will be completely shut down.
Congress is expected to vote to re-open the government shortly. For more information on the government shutdown, please contact Jeffrey Neeley or Robert Stang.