China could be blocking U.S. NVO registrations

    China is potentially holding up registrations or renewals for U.S. non-vessel-operating common carriers (NVOCCs) doing China-related business, Ed Greenberg, attorney for GKG law, said he has heard anecdotally.
   “I don’t know if it’s accurate; we’re reaching out to you to find out if it is,” he told attendees of the National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Annual Conference in San Antonio on Tuesday.
   It’s important, because if U.S. NVOCCs don’t properly register themselves with the Chinese government, then they must post “significant cash collateral” in a Chinese bank, Greenberg said.
   In the absence of that, an arrangement that was made between the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) and the Chinese government several years ago allowed NVOCCs to operate using FMC’s supplemental bond, he said.
   Greenberg speculated that China may be slowing the registration/renewal procedure for U.S. NVOCCs as retaliation for U.S. Section 301 tariffs.
   “If any of you are in the process of registering or renewing your registrations in [China] and having difficulty or you think it’s a calamity that it’s not being processed, please let us know so we can report this to the FMC, who will take a very sharp stand if it is a problem,” he said.