The U.S. federal government shut down at midnight on Friday, December 21st. The Senate has adjourned for its Christmas break without a resolution, so the shutdown will continue for several more days at the least. December 24th - 25th are already designated federal holidays.
The passenger and cargo processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection are considered essential services and will continue to operate during the shutdown. The Centers of Excellence and Expertise will be open. The Food and Drug Administration import operations will remain open as well. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services will operate at the ports as normal, and edecs processing remains available. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Marketing Service will continue to inspect cargo. The National Marine Fisheries Service will be closed.
For other participating government agency information, please contact your Vandegrift representative for information. We will continue to monitor the situation and bring you new information as it becomes available.