CBFANC Educational Events Schedule
Topics
Seminar topics for 2021 to soon be announced. Stay tuned!!!
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CBFANC 2020 Recap--A Challenging Year, A Busy Year
Evey Hwang, CBFANC President 
President’s Report – CBFANC 2020
Join us on January 26, 2021 in welcoming APD Bruce Muley at CBFANC’s annual State of the Port (virtual event).
CBFANC January: Well, a mostly normal start of year and a wonderful State of Port dinner on January 28 2020. Our speakers CBP Area Port Director Rich DiNucci and Pacific Maritime Shipping Association John McLaurin gave their take on past year and thoughts on new year. We were just hearing on something called “covid” and travel concerns and APD DiNucci’s informed responses were reassuring. Little did we know – 275 attendees – our State of Port dinner would be our last big in-person event…
CBFANC February: Board members traveled to Washington D.C. at the end of February for the annual Pacific Coast Council Mission to DC. As we were meeting staffers at the Congressional offices on February 25 th there was news hourly on pandemic concerns…
CBFANC March: Board held its last in-person meeting on March 5 th. On March 9 th, as Bay Area counties started restrictions on gathering, CBFANC made decision to cancel the all-day FDA Workshop planned for March 11 th Rest of March was discussions for necessary change-ups from in-person seminars to online webinars, etc. Meanwhile our industry shifted to hybrid of stay-at-home and in-office, discussions on essential versus non-essential…
CBFANC April: PPE is decidedly essential!
CBFANC Election Results for 2021 Board of Directors
Chris Ramos, Chairman, CBFANC Board of Directors 
On behalf of CBFANC, I would like to extend my appreciation to everyone for casting their votes for this year’s board of directors candidates.
I am very excited and pleased to present to you, the newly elected members for the CBFANC Board of Directors for the term 2021 – 2023. They are ~ Chris Kammer (Incumbent) – Access Supply Solution, Evey Hwang (Incumbent) – Alba Wheels Up Inc., and Mindy Li (New CBFANC Board Member) – Megabrokers.
In addition, I want to take this opportunity to especially thank all of our amazing slate of candidates for stepping up and volunteering to serve on the CBFANC Board of Directors, acting on behalf of the membership to navigate us through these challenging times. I sincerely appreciate all of your time and efforts.
We are all looking forward to a fantastic New Year and the prospect of 2021 as a positive step towards the future for our industry and ourselves.
Below, newly elected CBFANC Board Member, Mindi Li of Megabrokers.
State of California Announces COVID-19 Relief Grants
Sung Wook (John) Lee, SW Logistics 
Pictured above: Sung Wook (John) Lee
Open to all CBFANC members, clients and the trade community that was affected by COVID-19 pandemic.
Though much attention is focused on the federal stimulus bill enacted yesterday and its provisions to activate another round of PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) lending, we likely won’t know many details about the new program until sometime next week. Stay tuned for that…
But in the meantime, the State of California is about to launch a very different and much simpler business grant program for COVID-impacted businesses located in California.
The “ California Small Business COVD-19 Relief Grant Program” will deliver grants of $5,000 to $25,000 for businesses with annual revenues between $1,000 and $2.5 million.
Bankruptcy Protection for Brokers Included in COVID19 Relief Bill
Ray Bucheger, FBB Federal Relations 
Pictured above: Ray Bucheger, FBB Federal Relations
Per a fact sheet from the Hill – it notes that the end-of-year legislative package “ amends section 507 of title 11 to exempt customs brokers who collect and pay duties to Customs and Border Patrol on behalf of importers from the claw back provisions of the bankruptcy code when an importer files bankruptcy.”
This provision sunsets 1 year after enactment.
GSP and MTB to Expire on December 31, 2020
Ray Bucheger, FBB Federal Relations 
The end-of-year legislative package will clock in at over 5,000 pages. We are being told that while the USMCA technical corrections bill was included, Congressional leaders did not include an extension of the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program nor the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB).
There was partisan disagreement on whether to make changes to GSP – specifically whether to include provisions in a bill introduced by House Ways and Means Trade Subcommittee Chairman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) that would enhance labor and environmental standards. House and Senate Democrats were unified behind the Blumenauer bill; House and Senate Republicans wanted to pass a clean extension.
The MTB was held back due to a number of objections over certain items included in the report issued by the International Trade Commission (ITC) – until those issues are resolved, the MTB will not be taken up by Congress.
This means that GSP will expire on December 31, as will the temporary duty reductions and suspensions included as part of the current MTB.
We won’t likely have a sense as to when Congress will address GSP and the MTB until after the holidays – but we will be staying in touch with the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means Committees in an effort to provide you with the most up-to-date information available.
Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime.
Ray
Ray Bucheger
FBB Federal Relations
Affiliated with Lindsay Hart, LLP
cell: 202-236-5101
http://FBBFederalRelations.com
Massive Cranes Arrive for the Port of Oakland
Evey Hwang, CBFANC President 
New cranes have now arrived to Port of Oakland’s SSA! Reported earlier this year by Stas Margaronis with American Journal of Transportation, three cranes ordered from China’s ZPMC will enhance discharge of vessels. https://ajot.com/insights/full/ai-new-zpmc-cranes-will-augment-port-of-oaklands-big-ship-capability
Announced at the June 16 2020 Propellor Club meeting, Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan stated “We are especially excited to welcome ZPMC who will be delivering new cranes to the Port of Oakland later this year. The cranes will be delivered to our partner SSA (Stevedoring Service of America). These will be the tallest cranes in North America and will help the Port of Oakland handled the largest container ships…Back in 1996, the Port of Oakland was the recepient of the first ship to shore cranes delivered in North America. So, thank you ZPMC!”
The three cranes are 300 ft tall (and 400 ft tall when booms are raised) will be able to handle vessels with “19,000 TEUs and larger”. Cranes were years in planning and investment by SSA. Also the transport was a large undertaking including US Coast Guard review and coordination in order to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge and Bay Bridge. It will take several months to assemble and system integration but once completed, the cranes will prove a huge asset to Port of Oakland operations in 2021. What a grand way to bring the New Year!
Pictures courtesy of Kat Natividad, Bay Area Logistics Consultant
Kat took the photos as the cranes arrived at the Golden Gate on December 30th, approximately 8 a.m. Thank you, Kat, for the great pictures.
New Stadium Projects Do Not Benefit Host Cities or Local Economies
East Oakland Stadium Alliance 
(Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from the EOSA publication, Notes. This article contains strong points countering the myth that stadium developments actually benefit the host cites. Please read below.)
In this week's edition of Notes, we delve into the impact of stadiums on their local economies. The A's Howard Terminal project is estimated to cost between $600 and $700 million--not including infrastructure costs which the A's have said they expect to be paid for using public monies--and if past stadium and arena projects are any indication, the City of Oakland is sure to food a significant portion of the bill.
As Oakland North recently reported, new stadiums almost never contribute to the local economy. Retired Stanford economics professor and scholar Roger Noll points out,"stadiums do not generate significant local economic growth and the taxes paid to the local government is not sufficient to cover the financial contribution by the host city." Further, the City of Oakland still makes "substantial annual payments to the debts that remained when the Coliseum was built to lure the Oakland Raiders in the 1990s." Oakland and Alameda County also issued $140 million in bonds to cover costs of the renovations at Oracle Arena, former home of the Golden State Warriors. The NBA team recently sought and recently failed to avoid their debt payments to the City and County after their move to San Francisco.
The Covid-19 pandemic has delayed the A's project plan and raises further questions about the viability of a new stadium development at the Port of Oakland. The Howard Terminal plan threatens thousands to West Oakland's union jobs and takes working waterfront land away from the maritime industry. Desptie a challenging year for the nation's economy, ports have fared well with an anticipated growth over the next two years. Preserving Oakland's maritime industry is good for our local economy, unlike the impact of a risky new stadium project.
Goodbye 2020, Welcome 2021
Costs of Doing Business in California
Pacific Merchant Shipping Association PMSA 
Editor's note: The article below is part of the December 2020 issue of PMSA's "West Coast Trade Report." This excerpt provides details about the competitive disadvantages facing our industry in California. This problem is totally MAN MADE.
Trucks moving containers in and out of ports eat up a lot of fuel. According to the California Center for Jobs & the Economy, the November average prices per gallon of diesel in California was $3.35. That means that truckers in California cough up 43.6% more per gallon than the $2.33 forked over by truckers moving containers at ports elsewhere in the country.
That's not the only measure of California's exceptionalism. The average commercial price for electricity in the 12 months ended September 2020 was 74.4% higher in the Golden State than the US average of the other 49 states. In fact, California's commercial prices were the 3rd highest in the nation, and the highest among the contiguous states. Only Alaska and Hawaii had higher commercial electricity prices.
If you think electricity prices for commercial users are ridiculously high in California, consider that the average price paid by industrial uisers in the same period was 126.6% higher than the average for all states other than California.
We can't help but think these fuel prices have a bearing on the competitiveness of the Golden State's ports.
Bruce Murley Appointed New CBP Area Port Director for San Francisco
Bruce Murley has been named Area Port Director for San Francisco Port. Serving as APD of Honolulu for many years, Mr. Murley has stepped in as San Francisco APD previously and will permanently join our port during the second week of January. Mr. Murley will take over APD from Rich DiNucci who transferred August 1, 2020 to Office of Field Operations.
Join us on January 26, 2021 in welcoming APD Bruce Muley at CBFANC’s annual State of the Port (virtual event).
KEEP CALM AND WEAR YOUR MASK
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