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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

Evey Hwang, CBFANC President

CBFANC:  Working to bring carriers back to the Port of Oakland!
Home Port Oakland:  Tremendous effort to bring liner services back to Port of Oakland!  An emergency call to action through two Peters – Peter Friedmann, Our Man in DC and Peter Schneider of TGS Logistics.  Several September and October Monday calls with stakeholders and press along with efforts inbetween calls resulted in ONE Alliance return of services in November.    The return by CMA and SM Lines does not replace the full schedules (7 services omitted Oakland) but this is wonderful reminder of why we work together with care for our West Coast home ports.  
WESCCON 2021:   In-person conference for 2021?!    We weren’t sure in June but the sure thing with October 14-17 in Palm Springs was…sure wonderful to see everyone (approximately 300 people attended)!     We learned from keynote speakers Amy Strauss (Deputy Asst Secretary, DHS), AnnMarie Highsmith (Executive Asst Commissioner, Office of Trade, CBP), Peter Friedmann (PCC Counsel and OurManInDC) and this year, David Shim (Information Technology Innovator, Read.AI)   The Friday sessions with CBP and PGA, Cargo and Export panels with Saturday sessions on Ocean Shipping kept attendees engaged and tuned in to further collaborations between PCC associations and the port stakeholders for solutions.



 

 
Above:  Richard DiNucci, John Leonard
Panel discussion with Mr. John Leonard, Deputy Executive Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Trade, CBP and Mr. Richard Di Nucci, Director of Field Operations for CBP San Francisco Office.

November 2, 2021:  11:00 a.m. PT (2:00 p.m. ET)

https://cbp.webex.com/cbp/j.php?MTID=m4dfae25fba1d29693b1130f6ce490a18
 

Scary holidays season ahead?    Usually by Halloween time, retail and factory inventories are set for 4^th quarter business for the holidays ahead.   This year has already exceeded expectations in…freight costs and dislocations, inventory shortfalls, airport and seaport congestion, equipment and truck driver shortages.     
Supply Chain is the news and earlier this month the White House called a meeting with “business leaders, port leaders and union leaders” to discuss the challenges at ports across the country”.   The meeting’s focus was on addressing “bottlenecks at Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach”
On October 25^th, citing the White House’s Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, the Port leaders at LA and LB announced a port ($100) "emergency" surcharge to ocean carriers if their cargo containers failed to move off-terminal by 8 days.  The carriers immediately notified their importers/clients that they were forced to pass on the fees.
 

Just in time for the holidays!



 

Chris Kammer, CBFANC Board, Access Supply Chain Service

CSMS #49330816 - Proposed Broker Continuing Education Requirement Published for Comment U.S. Customs and Border Protection published the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for broker continuing education on Friday, September 10, 2021, at 86 FR 50794. In this NPRM, CBP is proposing a mandatory continuing education requirement for individual licensed brokers. CBP encourages input from the trade community. The comment period opens Friday, September 10, 2021 and ends Tuesday, November 9, 2021.
If you have any additional questions, you may contact the CBP Broker Management Branch at brokermanagement@cbp.dhs.gov.

 

Get your lobbying hat on!
 
The Garamendi Ocean Shipping Reform Act is rapidly gaining speed in the House, it has wide support from both sides of the isle and every trade association out there. 
 
The bill does not distinguish between a VOCC and NVOCC - it only specifies Common Carrier - which will lump you in with the VOCC across the board.  That means you may be rolled up on issues and problems over which you have no control, e.g. failing to provide containers, or lack of chassis, and even allocation of space on the vessel. 
 
Currently none of the supporters in the House appear open to consider amendments or changes to the House version of the bill (for which there were no hearings).
 
Next the Senate will take up the bill and hopefully craft their version of it - fingers crossed with your concerns considered and included, but as the saying only the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so it's your time to squeak loudly, reach out to your Senator today and point out the "subtle" yet significant difference. 
Go to the link below to contact our U.S. Seantors. 
 U.S. Senate: States in the Senate | California

 
Above:  Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla.



 

After a marathon discussion on Tuesday, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors moved forward with a heavily conditioned, non-binding intent to study what its participation in the Howard Terminal Infrastructure Financing District may entail. The Supervisors expressed numerous concerns and caution due to the lack of information provided by the City’s economic consultant, and asked the A’s to fund a more robust study which would provide the County detailed information about potential costs to the County and what guardrails are needed to protect taxpayers from another sport-related fiscal debacle. The Supervisors also expressed reservations about the portion of revenue the County is being asked to contribute compared to the City, and concerns about having say over how the money is spent on critical items like affordable housing.

 

Lori Azzopardi, WESCCON 2021 Scholarship Recipient

I started in this business in September 2009 as an air importer analyst and worked my way up to passing the October 2016 customs broker exam.   In January 2021, I joined CBFANC and was asked in April 2021 to finish out the term of the district 6 representative for NCBFAA. 

I was honored at being chosen for the scholarship. The opportunity of going to WESCCON 2021 provided me with information, contacts and relationships that I can use now and in the future.
The Friday and Saturday WESCCON panels provided me with an overload of information in a good way.  The ACE Portal workshop gave me insight to tools available to me and my customers for reporting capability.  The CBP Trade Policy Panel discussion of broker regulations, continuing education, 21CCF, Forced Labor and the impact of E-commerce on number entries and expected entries was a lot to take in. The C-TPAT Panel provided me a better understanding in the benefit of the program.  The PGA Panel (F&W/FDA/USDA – Lacey and Organics) was particularly of interest to me.  Several of my clients will be impacted by the organic program.  A planned start of April 2022 and planned full requirement by Spring 2023 allows me to work with my importer, their suppliers and their forwarders of the new reporting requirement. The Ocean Shipping Challenge Panel addressed the cause of congestion and the plan to address. I am hopeful they address and solve the current mess in a timelier manner than currently projected.  The FMC – Taking Action Panel was refreshing to hear acknowledgement there is an issue about demurrage and detention.  I am looking forward to FMC’s decision about the terminology, define responsible parties and clarify guidelines for demurrage and detention. I hopeful it is forthcoming soon.
 

STOP diversion of Port funds to projects unrelated to cargo handling and passenger access!!  

Here is an excerpt from the letter that points directly to industry concerns:

To achieve future growth, and ensure the long-term competitiveness of the Port, $279.5 million was recently allocated for the Port of Oakland in the state budget with the following language:
 
Funds appropriated in this item shall be for the Port of Oakland for improvements that facilitate enhanced freight and passenger access and to promote the efficient and safe movement of goods and people.
 
During an Oakland City Council meeting related to the Oakland A’s proposal to build a ballpark, retail, offices, and luxury condos at the Port of Oakland, it was suggested that this budget allocation could be used to finance infrastructure for the A’s development. It was also referenced for this use in a letter sent to the City Council by Port of Oakland Executive Director Danny Wan.  (Emphasis added by CBFANC Newsletter Editor)
 
However, as Director Wan himself stated in an interview in 2019, it is essential that the Port “is preserved as an industrial sanctuary,” and that commercial and residential development “doesn’t encroach on our operations, inhibit the ability of transportation partners to access the Port, or limit our ability to grow.”
 

Sandra Alvarez, CBFANC Legislative Chair, Flexport

There is no crystal ball as to when port congestion will end, but we’ve been hearing anywhere from 12-18 months as a ballpark. As far as getting goods onto shelves and the upcoming Holiday season, the sentiment is the same…...they are doing their best and the pragmatic approach is “Start Shopping Now!”
The aftermath of the first wave of the coronavirus disrupted ocean container shipping, especially between Asia and North America. As global production of non-essential items grounded to a halt, shipping capacity was cut. However, when demand rebounded as lockdowns were eased, the industry was unprepared for the scale of demand. Moreover, the recovery in consumer demand coincided with increases in manufacturing, notably a stronger than expected resurgence in automotive production.
 
This has now resulted in port congestion felt nationwide, but most painfully here on the West Coast.

 

ALCO BOS Expresses Concerns About Nebulous Deal and Underlying Assumptions Before Passing Non-Binding Resolution on Howard Terminal

 
 Path to a Symbolic Vote
Mayor Libby Schaaf's Administration has publicly urged the County to join the property-tax based funding mechanism for the proposed A's stadium development since May . The County's participation is now an absolute necessity for Schaaf's administration after the A's proposal for an additional district in Jack London Square was found unwieldy and politically problematic. Without the IFD income projected by the A's for Jack London Square, none of the numbers add up, and given that Fisher's A's company seeks to have a publicly financed stadium, the project is outright infeasible. Even with the County participation in the IFD, tall hurdles remain, but the project will never pencil out without the money the City is seeking from the County.
PLEASE read the entire article, click on the ink below.
 ALCO BOS Expresses Concerns About Nebulous Deal and Underlying Assumptions Before Passing Non-Binding Resolution on Howard Terminal | Oakland News by Hyphenated Republic on Patreon
 

Mindy Li, CBFANC PGA Committee, Megabrokers

Cargo Systems Messaging Service CSMS #49912026 - Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Product Code End-date Due to duplication, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be end-dating the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) Product Code listed below. The product code below will be end-dated in 30 days. The end-date will be effective on November 28, 2021. End-Dated Code/Description 64O[][]06/Pembrolizumab, Monoclonal Antibodies Instead, please use the product code below. Product Code/Description 62Z[][]31/Pembrolizumab (Anti-Neoplastic - Part II) Please send any questions or concerns to the email address for the Product Code Builder Feedback: PCBFeedback@fda.hhs.gov For assistance with product code identification, the public may also refer to the FDA Product Code Builder.