Topics
July 22 - Drawback
August 19 - Classification Webinar
September 16 - CBP CEE Seminar
October 21 - Valuation
November 18 - Export focused webinar
December 9 - Happy Hour (Holiday) or CBP Importer/Broker Audit Assessment or BOTH!  TBA.
 

Please connect with us!

Twitter - @cbfanc

LinkedIn - CBFANC

Facebook - CBFANC

• P.A.E.I - Professional Association of Exporters and Importers
• www.paei.org.

• OWIT NC - Organization of Women in International Trade Check website for updates
• Monterey Bay International Trade Association (MBITA) - Monterey Bay International Trade Association
  Check Website for updates
• Norcal W.T.C. - The Northern CaliforniaWorld Trade Center
  Check Website for updates
• PTA. - Pacific Transportation Association Check Website for updates

Keith Hwang, Instructor, CHB Exam Classes for October 2020 Exam. Info Webinar on July 2nd, and Classes start July 7th!!!
  
 

UNPRECEDENTED EVENT:  WESCCON 2020 WILL BE HELD ONLINE!  

The Customs Federal Regulations 111 Rewrite:  Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [NPRM] on Modernization of the Customs Brokers Regulations https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/05/2020-04711/modernization-of-the-customs-brokers-regulations and NPRM on Elimination of Customs Broker District Permit Fee https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/06/05/2020-04708/elimination-of-customs-broker-district-permit-fee
 National Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association of America (NCBFAA) Customs Committee has held series of meeting on 111 rewrite proposed rules.   Much concern are on revisions to sections CFR 111.28 and CFR 111.32.  The language and nature of tone are problematic.

Chris Kammer, CBFANC CHB Exam Chairman

The Customs Brokerage Fall Exam will take place on October 8^th and CBP had made safety of the test takers a top priority this year, the test will be two sessions this time to support social distancing, one in the morning starting at 8:30 am (local time) and one in the afternoon starting at 1:30 pm (local time).  In addition to safe distances for test takers , face masks are mandatory and check in will be a minimum of 30 minutes before the start of the exam.  Registration for the exam starts on August 3, 2020 and closes early September 8, 2020,  applications must be submitted online through the eCBP portal: https://e.cbp.dhs.gov/ecbp/#/main  CBP will host a broker exam webinar on September 23, 2020 to provide information on the test and answer questions from test takers  Information for this webinar will be posted on cbp.gov/trade
 

Pictured Above:  Peter Friedmann and Evey Hwang
Spotlight on Our Man in D.C. Peter Friedmann:  Our counsel for Pacific Coast Council of Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders remains our advocate.   He is perhaps most widely known for leading the Agriculture Transportation Coalition – according to the Journal of Commerce, the AgTC is “the principle voice of U.S. agriculture exports in transportation policy.”
 

THE FRONTIERS RESPONDERS FUND FIGHTS COVID19 PANDEMIC

The Frontiers Responders Fund, created by CBFANC member Flexport and nine other organizations, has raised over $8 million to help provide PPE and other vital safety materials to those engaged the fight against COVID19.  The fund has partnered with Airlink, which is a rapid-response humanitarian relief organization. With the fund's support Airlink has been able ship hundreds of thousands of masks and face shields and other supplies to organizations such as the International Medical Corp, the Salvation Army, and Medical Teams International. 

Everyone is welcome and encouraged to contribute to this worthy cause.  The Frontiers Responders Fund provides a great opportunity for those in the community to put their donation dollars where it delivers direct benefit to the folks on the front lines. 

The gofundme page can be found on the following link:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/frontlinerespondersfund (click on the June 24th update)
 
 

   
Sandra Langford-Coty

Some good news.

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USDAAPHIS/bulletins/29355d7

June 30, 2020—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will extend the timeline for implementing the APHIS Core Message Set in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). In February, APHIS published a notice in the Federal Register announcing that it would activate Core Message Set flags in ACE on August 3, 2020. In response to stakeholder concerns about operational and economic setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, APHIS will publish a second Federal Register notice in the coming weeks that will delay implementation until January 2021. This action will give the trade community time to recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for this change.

 

Friends of the East Oakland Stadium Alliance,  In response to the undisclosed discussions between the City and the A's on the Coliseum land, Oakland-based civil rights lawyer and activist Pamela Price authored this opinion piece which was published in the East Bay Times and The Mercury News to call for transparency in the process and demand that a Coliseum agreement with the A's must require a ballpark there. The Sierra Club’s San Francisco Bay Chapter is similarly calling for the A's to build a new ballpark at the current Coliseum site. They have warned of environmental justice impacts on residents associated with the Howard Terminal proposal and recommend the Coliseum with its existing infrastructure as the best place for the A's to call home. Sign the petition here The City Council will meet today and report back on their closed-door discussions. Sign the petition above to OPPOSE a secret deal without public input, that serves to enrich the A’s owners. Any agreement should REQUIRE that the team's stadium be rebuilt at the Coliseum property, not Howard Terminal.    -- East Oakland Stadium Alliance http://www.eastoaklandstadiumalliance.com/

According to the Wall Street Journal, Mitsui OSK Lines is cutting its fleet by 5% over the next three years, due to reductions of trade volumes caused by the COVID19 pandemic.  The cuts will involve 40 vessels, including container ships, dry bulk carriers, tankers, and car carriers.  MOL operated 800 ships.
Container sailings from Asia to Europe and across the Pacific are down at least 25% so far this year, according to Copenhagen based reseach group SeaIntelligence Consulting.
 

Please see the YouTube link below to an interview with Cestra Butner, Port of Oakland Board President.


SW John Lee, CBFANC Board Member


Cestra Butner, Port of Oakland Board President

Highlights from the Interview with Mr Butner.. 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBC5RoSPRu8&feature=youtu.be

1. Revenue from Airport is down, but starting up
2. Commercial Real Estate is affected as well
3. Winding up his term of 8 years started in 2012
4. Howard Terminal is still on the books
5. 75% of Airport business is Southwest Airline and is the hub for the West Coast
6. Seaport is down 5-10% but the cool port project is ‘off the hook’ for exports
7. Port of Oakland will always be the center of commerce in Northern California

 

Ray Bucheger, FBB Federal Relations

The United States Trade Representative (USTR) testified yesterday before the House Ways and Means (HWM) and Senate Finance Committees – Ambassador Lighthizer covered a range of topics during these oversight hearings, which are held annually. Here is a summary of the main points discussed. Note that there was no discussion of duty deferral during either hearing.
China Trade
In general, Lighthizer defended the China 301 tariffs as a good mechanism to create jobs in the U.S. In fact, when responding to a member of the HWM Committee about a company that was denied an exclusion even though there is no domestic production, Lighthizer responded by saying the company has had years to find a new supplier outside of China. Similarly, when asked whether exclusions granted for products related to COVID-19 response would be extended, Lighthizer responded by saying that while an extension is possible, any extensions would depend on the severity of the pandemic at the time the exclusions expire and emphasized the Administration’s goal of incentivizing companies to manufacture these products in the United States.

 

LONG BEACH, Calif., June 30, 2020—The West Coast MTO Agreement (WCMTOA) today announced that on August 1, 2020, the Traffic Mitigation Fee (TMF) at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will increase by 4.2 percent. The adjustment matches the combined 4.2 percent increase in longshore wage and assessment rates that take effect in early July.

Beginning August 1, the TMF will be $33.47 per TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) or $66.94 for all other sizes of container. The TMF is charged on non-exempt containers. Containers exempt from the TMF include empty containers; import cargo or export cargo that transits the Alameda Corridor in a container and is subject to a fee imposed by the Alameda Corridor Transportation Authority; and transshipment cargo. Empty chassis and bobtail trucks are also exempt.

Even though the pandemic has reduced cargo volumes and ship voyages, the arrival and departure of ships arriving and departing are still a dramatic vision to behold!  These photos were taken within the last two weeks and attest to the fact that supply chains are still flowing.


The Maesk vessel below is bigger than Alcatraz!

 
 

Below is an announcement from NCBFAA:


G.TEC 2020 - The Show Must Go On(line)! 
 
With COVID-19 impacting business and our daily lives, including the cancellation of events of every size and scope, we wanted to confirm that due to continued restrictions, our 2020 Global Trade Educational Conference (G.TEC) originally scheduled for August 3-4 in Chicago, IL will now be held online. 
 
We appreciate your patience as we work behind the scenes to make this shift. We plan to open registration next month, and thank everyone for their interest and patience. We look forward to offering you excellent educational content in August.
 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) National Commodity Specialist Division (NCSD) is hosting their next round of commodity-specific webinars and have released their schedule for June through August. Below is the list of available webinars.