The Ezhou Huahu Airport in central China's Hubei Province, China's first cargo-focused airport, launched its 100th cargo route on Sunday, linking China, the U.S. and Canada.
A cargo aircraft operated by SF Express landed at the airport on Sunday afternoon, after flying from New York in the United States via Halifax, Canada. This newly opened route is the airport's first Canadian route.
"China and the U.S already have established freight exchanges. Leveraging the fifth freedom rights, we can now fly from the U.S. to Canada, and bring Canadian fresh and aquatic products back to China," said He Fei, Deputy General Manager of the Hub Development Department under Hubei International Logistics Airport Co.
The main outbound cargoes on this route include garments, electronic products, and electromechanical equipment, while inbound shipments primarily consist of machinery, health products, and fresh seafood.
The route is expected to provide more than 100 tons of weekly air capacity for Canadian seafood exports to China.
This year, Huahu Airport has established forward cargo stations in provinces such as Jiangsu and Guangdong. It will soon open overseas warehouses in locations including Hong Kong and Milan, Italy. These efforts aim to integrate air logistics with cross-border e-commerce.
China's first cargo-focused airport launches 100th route, connecting US, Canada
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Monday launched the first phase of a new claims system that will allow importers to seek repayment of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Companies and their customs brokers can submit refund requests through CBP's Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal using a newly developed tool known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, starting Monday.
Once a claim is validated, CBP will recalculate the duties without the IEEPA tariffs and reliquidate the entries, triggering repayment. The refunds will be paid directly to the businesses that originally paid the tariffs, local media reported Monday.
Valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after a claim is accepted, CBP said, though more complex cases could take longer.
CBP is rolling out the refund process in phases. Court filings show that more than 330,000 importers paid duties on over 53 million shipments, totaling roughly 166 billion U.S. dollars.
The Supreme Court ruled in February that U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs under IEEPA are unconstitutional. It is Congress, not the president, that holds authority over such taxes.
Following the ruling, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade directed CBP to remove the tariffs from affected entries and refund any excess duties collected, along with interest.
U.S. gov't begins refunding tariffs to businesses
