PNCT: MON-FEB 18th- President's Day - PNCT GATE 7am-5pm
Monday, Feb 18th, PNCT will be OPEN from 7am-5pm for President's Day. REEFER GATE 7am-3:30pm, DOUBLE-MOVE cut 4pm.
PierPass: Port Truck Gate Schedule for Presidents’ Day Weekend 2019
Terminals at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have announced schedules for the Presidents’ Day Holiday weekend of Friday, Feb. 15, 2019, through Monday, Feb. 18, 2019. The schedule is posted below, and a PDF of the schedule can be downloaded by clicking here: https://www.pierpass.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Prezday_2019.pdf.
Please continue to monitor the websites of individual terminals for updates.
CBP at JFK seizes Counterfeit Watches - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
JAMAICA, N.Y. — On January 16, 2019 CBP officers conducting a routine inspection of a shipment from Hong Kong discovered and seized counterfeit watches worth an estimated manufacturer suggested retail price of $3.7 million, had they been genuine. The seized watches were infringing on the Michael Kors, Rolex, Piguet, Hublot, and Nike trademarks.
“CBP Officers are protecting the American public from various dangers on a daily basis,” said Troy Miller, Director of CBP’s New York Field Operations. “The interception of these counterfeit watches is a direct reflection of the vigilance and commitment to mission success by our CBP Officers daily.”
CBP protects businesses and consumers every day through an aggressive Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) enforcement program, and IPR enforcement is a CBP Priority Trade Issue.
The theft of intellectual property and the trade in substandard and often dangerous goods threatens America’s innovation economy and consumer health and safety, and it generates proceeds that fund criminal activities and organized crime. CBP has established the Truth Behind Counterfeits educational campaign in order to raise consumer awareness about these consequences that can be associated with the purchase of counterfeit and pirated goods. For more information visit www.cbp.gov/fakegoodsrealdangers.
If you have any information regarding suspected fraud or illegal trade activity, please contact CBP through the e-Allegations Online Trade Violation Reporting System or by calling 1-800-BE-ALERT. IPR violations can also be reported to the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center at https://www.iprcenter.gov/referral/ or by telephone at 1-866-IPR-2060.
Update to Restrictions on Fish From Mexico Caught With Gillnets for Regulated Tariff Code - U.S. Customs & Border Protection
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) published a notice in the Federal Register on August 28, 2018, entitled “Implementation of Import Restrictions; Certification of Admissibility for Certain Fish Products from Mexico¨ (83 FR 43796). A United States Court of International Trade (CIT) order (Slip-Op 18-92) imposed immediate import restrictions on fish and fish products of Mexican origin caught with gillnets deployed in the native geographic range of the critically endangered Vaquita porpoise, listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Under the August 14, 2018 court order, an import ban was placed on certain fish and fish products from Mexico (chano, sierra, curvina, and shrimp) that were caught with gillnets deployed in the Northern Gulf of California. To implement the court order, NOAA mandates that imports of shrimp, fish and fish products of Mexican origin that are entered under designated HTS codes must be accompanied by “Certification of Admissibility” signed by a duly authorized Official of the Mexican Government.
Beginning on October 15, 2018, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requirements for the import of shrimp, fish and fish products of Mexican Origin must be accompanied with the “Certification of Admissibility” (OMB 0648-0651) identifying that the imported commodity was not harvested using gillnets in the Upper Gulf of California, Mexico. The Certification of Admissibility must contain a valid signature from one of the Officials Designated by the Government of Mexico. The list of Officials Designated by the Government of Mexico authorized to sign the Certification of Admissibility has been updated as of February 4, 2019 (see link below).
Fish and fish products originating from Mexico filed under tariff codes as posted on the NOAA National Mammal Protection, Seafood Import Restrictions website (see link below) must be accompanied with a valid Certification of Admissibility to meet NMFS import requirements. Disclaimed commodities may only be for processed fish products filed under the HTS codes 2309.90 or 2309.10, or HTS code 0511.99.3060. On February 9, 2019, an updated tariff list has been posted on the NOAA website (see link below) that require a valid Certification of Admissibility for fish and fish products of Mexican origin.
BALTIMORE – U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists in Jacksonville, Florida and in Baltimore teamed up recently to mitigate a serious economic threat posed by a beetle. This wasn’t just any beetle; it was Trogoderma granarium Everts, commonly known as Khapra beetle, one of the world’s most destructive insect pests.
While inspecting the M/V Green Ridge, a 650-foot vehicle carrier, February 4, Jacksonville CBP agriculture specialists discovered one live suspected Khapra beetle larvae and many caste skins in a dry goods store room. CBP collected the specimens, sealed the store room and permitted the vessel to transit to Baltimore while the U.S. Department of Agriculture entomologist identified the pest.
The USDA entomologist confirmed the larvae as Khapra beetle February 6. On the same day, Jacksonville CBP agriculture specialists issued an Emergency Action Notification requiring the vessel be fumigated. Baltimore CBP agriculture specialists boarded the vessel and notified the ship’s captain that cargo offloading was suspended until the fumigation could be completed. Fumigation completed on Saturday and cargo operations commenced Monday.
“The teamwork exhibited by Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists in Jacksonville and Baltimore demonstrate CBP’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding America’s agricultural resources and our nation’s economy against a highly-invasive and destructive insect pest,” said Casey Durst, CBP’s Field Operations Director in Baltimore. “Agriculture protection is a paramount mission for CBP and a mission that we take very serious.”
The vessel arrived to Jacksonville from Panama, with previous port calls in Southwest Asia and North Africa, regions where Khapra beetle have established.
Khapra beetle is most destructive of stored grains, cereals and seeds, and it presents potentially crippling economic consequences to grain and cereal exporters such as the United States. Due to those consequences, Khapra beetle remains the only insect in which CBP takes regulatory action, even when the insect is in a dead state.
According to the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), previous U.S. infestations of Khapra beetle have resulted in massive, long-term control and eradication efforts at great cost to the American taxpayer.
In 1953, California implemented extensive eradication measures following a Khapra beetle infestation discovered there. The effort was deemed successful, but at a cost of approximately $11 million. Calculated in today’s dollars, that would be about $90 million.
CBP agriculture specialists have extensive training and experience in the biological sciences and agricultural inspection. Learn more about how CBP protects our nation’s agriculture.
On a typical day nationally, CBP agriculture specialists interdicts 4,638 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, and intercepts 352 agriculture pests and diseases. Learn more about what CBP achieves during a “Typical Day.”
CBP's border security mission is led at 328 international ports of entry by CBP officers and agriculture specialists from the Office of Field Operations. CBP uses a variety of techniques to intercept narcotics, unreported currency, weapons, prohibited agriculture, and other illicit products, and to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders.
Statement from FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D., on Ongoing Efforts to Stop the Spread of Illicit Opioids, Further Secure the U.S. Drug Supply Chain and Forcefully Confront Opioid Epidemic - Food & Drug Administration
The opioid epidemic continues to be one of the greatest challenges facing this nation and the FDA. As we continue to take a range of steps to forcefully confront the opioid crisis plaguing our country, most people think first and foremost about the agency’s work to encourage more appropriate prescribing to decrease exposure to opioids and prevent new addiction, as well as our initiatives to advance innovations in both novel pain therapies and better treatments to help those with opioid use disorder. Our efforts to combat this public health emergency, however, extend also to stopping the spread of illicit opioids and further securing all aspects of the supply chain for legitimate medications, including opioids.
On the illicit drugs front, we’ve worked to increase our enforcement and interdiction work targeting illegal, unapproved, counterfeit and potentially dangerous products being shipped illegally through international mail facilities (IMFs). Tens of millions of packages are estimated to contain FDA-regulated products, and a surprisingly high percentage of these products are illegal. In fact, in recent years, 86 percent of the packages that were suspected of containing FDA-regulated products and were pulled for FDA review indeed contained illegal, illicit, unapproved, counterfeit and/or potentially dangerous drugs. In 2017, the U.S. Postal Service processed nearly one half billion international parcels, a volume that has been growing at roughly 50 percent annually. In fact, the USPS Office of Inspector General reported that 80 percent of the websites providing guidance on how to mail illicit drugs instructed traffickers to use the Postal Service for shipments.
The FDA also has special agents that are assigned to the IMFs who work closely with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and FDA regulatory staff, who identify and refer suspect shipments, and who, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, bring criminal cases to prosecution. These port of entry investigations have proven to be successful in holding criminals accountable, resulting in hundreds of arrests, prosecutions, guilty pleas and convictions. In addition to our work at the IMFs, we’re also working with federal partners to conduct criminal investigations targeting the operations of international criminal groups, both public and on the dark web. Every package stopped, every online network shut down and every criminal convicted reduces the risk that illegal and dangerous drugs will get into the hands of unknowing patients.
We’ve also been active in combating the illegal online sales of opioids. Over the last year, the FDA has sent a series of warning letters to online networks, operating at least 70 websites, illegally marketing potentially dangerous, unapproved and misbranded versions of opioid medications. Increasingly, patients are going online to illegally buy opioids like Vicodin, Percocet or Oxycontin but are either not receiving what they ordered, or they are simply being scammed out of their money. Last June, the FDA hosted internet stakeholders and thought leaders, government entities, academic researchers and advocacy groups at an Online Opioid Summit to discuss ways to collaboratively take stronger action in combatting the opioid crisis by reducing the availability of illicit opioids online.
Just as critical are the FDA’s efforts to protect patients from exposure to drugs that get into the legitimate U.S. supply chain that may be counterfeit, stolen, contaminated or otherwise harmful, as well as making sure these same drugs aren’t being diverted for illegal sale. Entities within the supply chain must also comply with the law and do their part to respond quickly and thoroughly when notified of potential counterfeit, stolen or diverted products entering the supply chain. While the U.S. drug supply chain is among the safest in the world, complacency isn’t an option. Every link in the supply chain must be secure to ensure patient access to safe and effective medicines. We all need to remain vigilant to protect patients and make sure drugs meant for patients aren’t being stolen or diverted. That means accountability throughout the supply chain, including important oversight by the FDA to ensure every entity within the chain is complying with the law.
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Cargo Surges Ahead of Lunar New Year - Port of Long Beach
Volumes close to January record at Port of Long Beach
In January, dockworkers handled 657,286 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a 0.1 percent decrease compared to the Port’s all-time January record set in 2018, which turned out to be the Port’s busiest year. Imports totaled 323,838 TEUs, down 0.3 percent. Exports slid 2.7 percent to 117,288 TEUs while the number of empty containers shipped overseas rose 1.6 percent to 216,160 TEUs.
“It’s encouraging to see these healthy volumes to start the year,” said Port of Long Beach Executive Director Mario Cordero. “As long as the economy is performing well, we expect our container trade to mirror it. Regardless, the Port will continue to focus on delivering operational excellence, working with ocean carriers, terminals, truckers, labor, cargo owners and all of our many stakeholders.”
“While it will be a challenge to top last year, when we moved the most cargo in our 108-year history, we do anticipate modest growth in 2019,” said Long Beach Harbor Commission President Tracy Egoscue. “The Commission would like to wish our supply chain partners in Asia a happy Lunar New Year, and prosperous months ahead.”
The latest monthly cargo numbers can be found here.
More detailed cargo numbers are at
www.polb.com/stats.