PIERPASS: Majority of Terminals Operating Truck Gates Through Lunch & Shift Changes, as GGS Adds Saturday Shift
PierPass / http://www.pierpass.org/uncategorized/majority-of-terminals-operating-truck-gates-through-lunch-shift-changes-as-ggs-adds-saturday-shift/
U.S. WASHINGTON—U.S. CAs you may know, congestion at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has increased over the past several months amid disruptions in the supply of chassis and other factors. The marine terminal operators, while not owning chassis themselves, have been working with other key parties including chassis leasing companies to help mitigate the problems. The chassis disruptions have been compounded by ocean carrier alliances that are dispersing cargo among more terminals, the arrival of larger ships, a shortage of rail cars and locomotives, and the struggles of trucking companies to retain drivers.
In the meantime, the terminals continue providing additional labor to ensure sufficient capacity at the truck gates. The majority of the 13 international container terminals at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports are keeping truck gates open during lunch hours and shift changes. As the accompanying schedule of relief and flex gates shows, 77% of the terminals are hiring additional labor to keep terminal gates open during the day shift’s contractually-mandated lunch hour from noon to 1:00 p.m., while 85% are keeping gates open during the OffPeak shift’s 10 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. dinner hour.
Terminals are also opening gates early in the morning (flex gates) and keeping them open between shifts. Ten of the 13 terminals (77%) are running truck gates between the end of the day shift at 5:00 p.m. and the start of the OffPeak shift at 6:00 p.m., while eight (61%) are opening an hour before the 8 a.m. start of the day shift.
In addition, terminals continue to adjust OffPeak shift availability to meet demand. Beginning on Saturday Oct. 25, Global Gateway South (GGS) terminal at the Port of Los Angeles will begin offering an OffPeak shift during the daytime on Saturdays, bringing the total number of terminals operating Saturdays to eight. Monday, Wednesday and Thursday nights each have 12 terminals open to trucks, while all terminals are currently open Tuesday nights.
While we anticipate congestion will ease somewhat as the peak season passes, we expect it will take several months for the chassis situation to significantly improve. Although the current delays aren’t due to availability of truck gates, the terminals are monitoring the situation closely and will continue to adjust gate hours as needed.
OTEXA: ANNOUNCEMENTS
Office of Textile and Apparel / http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/
10/21/2014 - U.S. International Trade Commission received a complaint from Converse, Inc. alleging that certain footwear imports infringe upon the company's registered and common law trademarks in violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930. The Commission is soliciting comments and written submissions must be filed by the close of business eight days after publication of the Federal Register notice, or by Oct. 28.
10/21/2014 – On October 18, 2014, the Turkish Ministry of Economy, General Directorate of Imports (GDI) announced an antidumping investigation on U.S. cotton. Related parties have 37 days from the date of the announcement to send their written response to GDI. Communique published in the Official Gazette (in Turkish)
10/21/2014 – Increase of Haiti HOPE knit apparel TPL from 70 million SMEs to 200 million SMEs for the annual period from October 1, 2013 to September 30, 2014. In accordance with the Haiti HELP legislation, because imports under the knit apparel TPL exceeded 52 million SMEs during the month of September 2014, the applicable quota level for the 2013/2014 annual period is automatically increased to 200 million SMEs. The quota level for the new annual period, from October 1, 2014 to September 30, 2015 will be 70 million SMEs until such time as imports reach or exceed 52 million SMEs.
Statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Distributions Required Under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act
U.S. Customs & Border Protection / http://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/2014-10-24-000000/statement-us-customs-and-border-protection
WASHINGTON—Pursuant to the requirements of the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act (CDSOA), CBP identified nearly $19 million in Fiscal Year 2014 for distribution to the domestic crawfish industry. The statements are currently being prepared and distributions will be made by the November statutory deadline. Final distribution amounts are subject to change and could be impacted due to ongoing litigation. CDSOA was passed on October 28, 2000 and remained effective until October 1, 2007. The provisions of this act allow for anti-dumping and countervailing (AD/CV) duties collected by CBP to be disbursed to domestic producers injured by foreign dumping and subsidies.
When the Department of Commerce finds that imported merchandise was sold in the U.S. at an unfairly low or subsidized price, to level the playing field for U.S. companies injured by these unfair trade practices, CBP is responsible for collecting the Antidumping and Countervailing Duties.
The goal of Antidumping and Countervailing Duties as a CBP Priority Trade Issue is to detect and deter circumvention of the law, to liquidate final duties timely and accurately, while at the same time facilitating legitimate trade. More on Antidumping and Countervailing Duties can be found on CBP.gov.
India's Trade and Investment Policies During 2014-2015 will be Focus on New USITC Investigation
U.S. International Trade Commssion / http://www.usitc.gov/press_room/news_release/2014/er1028mm1.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) has launched an investigation to examine significant changes since mid-2014 by the Indian government to India's trade and investment policies.
The investigation, Trade and Investment Policies in India, 2014-2015, was requested jointly by the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance in a letter received on September 25, 2014.
The investigation is the second investigation regarding India's trade and investment policies requested by the Committees.
In 2013, the Committees jointly asked the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, to investigate Indian policies that restrict U.S. trade and investment. The USITC will submit its report in that investigation (Trade, Investment, and Industrial Policies in India: Effects on the U.S. Economy, USITC Inv. No. 332-543) to the Committees on December 15, 2014.
In the request letter for the new investigation, the Committees stated: "Given the recent national elections in India and the formation of a new Bharatiya Janata Party-led government, and our interest in receiving the most comprehensive and up-to-date information possible, we now request that the Commission conduct a second investigation concerning India's industrial policies that discriminate against U.S. trade and investment since the first ITC investigation."
As requested, in its new investigation, the USITC will provide information about any significant changes by the Indian government to the trade and investment policies identified in the Commission's ongoing investigation. The USITC will also include information on any new relevant new trade and investment policies and practices in India, focusing on the period from mid-2014.
The USITC expects to deliver the report to the Committees by September 24, 2015.
The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with this investigation at 9:30 a.m. on April 7, 2015. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on March 24, 2015, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. For further information, call 202-205-2000.
The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions on this investigation should be addressed to the Secretary at the above address and should be submitted at the earliest practical date, but no later than 5:15 p.m. on June 2, 2015. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection.
Further information on the scope of the investigation and appropriate submissions is available in the USITC's notice of investigation, dated October 28, 2014, which can be obtained from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or by contacting the Office of the Secretary at the above address or at 202-205-2000.
USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs or trade and are generally conducted at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission's objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.
ITA: PRESS RELEASE
International Trade Administration / http://www.trade.gov/press/press-releases/
10/27/2014 Commerce Preliminarily Finds Dumping of Imports of Sugar from Mexico
10/27/2014 United States and Mexico reach Deal on Sugar Import Investigations
Service Helps Make Atlantic Coast Stronger After Hurricane Sandy
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service / http://www.fws.gov/
October 29, 2014
Two years ago today, Hurricane Sandy made landfall, devastating communities along the Atlantic Coast. With $167 million in federal recovery funding, the Fish and Wildlife Service is cleaning up and repairing damaged wildlife refuges, strengthening and restoring beaches, marshes and other natural defenses that sustain wildlife and protect communities, and developing science to better understand and predict impacts to these natural areas.
Watch YouTube Video: http://youtu.be/fuS80sHi_WI
FTC Says AT&T Has Misled Millions of Consumers with ‘Unlimited’ Data Promises
Federal Trade Commission/ http://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2014/10/ftc-says-att-has-misled-millions-consumers-unlimited-data
Company “Throttles” Many Consumers Who Had Signed Up for Unlimited Data
The Federal Trade Commission filed a federal court complaint against AT&T Mobility, LLC, charging that the company has misled millions of its smartphone customers by charging them for “unlimited” data plans while reducing their data speeds, in some cases by nearly 90 percent.
The FTC’s complaint alleges that the company failed to adequately disclose to its customers on unlimited data plans that, if they reach a certain amount of data use in a given billing cycle, AT&T reduces – or “throttles” – their data speeds to the point that many common mobile phone applications – like web browsing, GPS navigation and watching streaming video – become difficult or nearly impossible to use.
“AT&T promised its customers ‘unlimited’ data, and in many instances, it has failed to deliver on that promise,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “The issue here is simple: ‘unlimited’ means unlimited.”
According to the FTC’s complaint, AT&T’s marketing materials emphasized the “unlimited” amount of data that would be available to consumers who signed up for its unlimited plans. The complaint alleges that, even as unlimited plan consumers renewed their contracts, the company still failed to inform them of the throttling program. When customers canceled their contracts after being throttled, AT&T charged those customers early termination fees, which typically amount to hundreds of dollars.
The FTC alleges that AT&T, despite its unequivocal promises of unlimited data, began throttling data speeds in 2011 for its unlimited data plan customers after they used as little as 2 gigabytes of data in a billing period. According to the complaint, the throttling program has been severe, often resulting in speed reductions of 80 to 90 percent for affected users. Thus far, according to the FTC, AT&T has throttled at least 3.5 million unique customers a total of more than 25 million times.
According to the FTC’s complaint, consumers in AT&T focus groups strongly objected to the idea of a throttling program and felt “unlimited should mean unlimited.” AT&T documents also showed that the company received thousands of complaints about the slow data speeds under the throttling program. Some consumers quoted the definition of the word “unlimited,” while others called AT&T’s throttling program a “bait and switch.” Many consumers also complained about the effect the throttling program had on their ability to use GPS navigation, watch streaming videos, listen to streaming music and browse the web.
The complaint charges that AT&T violated the FTC Act by changing the terms of customers’ unlimited data plans while those customers were still under contract, and by failing to adequately disclose the nature of the throttling program to consumers who renewed their unlimited data plans.
FTC staff worked closely on this matter with the staff of the Federal Communications Commission.
The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the complaint was 5-0. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
NOTE: The Commission files a complaint when it has “reason to believe” that the law has been or is being violated and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. The case will be decided by the court.