Come meet with BOC at TPM 19. We will be presenting on one of the panels and participating in the regatta on Sunday March 3rd. We hope to see you at these events or let us know if you would like to visit us; we will be holding meetings on the Island Trader. Further details can be found below. We hope to see you there.
BOC’s Patrick Fay Presents at TPM
When and Where: March 6th Wednesday 10:00 am – 11 am, Room 104B, First Floor Reimagining an Import Logistics Program: A 1A Auto Case Study. Session Chair: Peter Tirschwell, Panelists: Richard Higgins, Patrick Fay and Mike Prandato. Come join us!
BOC’s Yacht Team Races at TPM Challenge Cup
When and Where: March 3rd Sunday 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, Rainbow Pier (Near Gladstone’s)
Long Beach, BOC’s Yacht will race in the Regatta to try to win the TPM Challenge Cup! Come cheer on all the racers!
BOC’s Meeting Space on Island Trader
When and Where: Saturday March 2nd to Wednesday March 6th, Shoreline Village
(Near Yard House).
Please reach out to book a time with a BOC team member at BOC’s enjoyable meeting space on the water. BOCTPMMeetings@bocintl.com
BOC Proudly Partners with TPM19 as a Contributing Sponsor
Trump to delay further tariffs on Chinese goods
Excerpted from BBC.com news (2/25/19)
President Donald Trump has announced that the US will delay imposing further trade tariffs on Chinese goods.
The rise in import duties on Chinese goods from 10% to 25% was due to come into effect on 1 March.
Mr Trump said both sides had made “substantial progress” in trade talks, which sent Chinese stocks up nearly 5%.
He added that he was planning a summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Florida to cement the trade deal if more progress was made.
A report from China’s official news agency Xinhua also noted “substantial progress” on specific issues such as technology transfer, intellectual property protection and agriculture.
Mr Trump’s decision to delay tariff increases on $200bn (£153bn) worth of Chinese goods was seen as a sign that the two sides are making progress on settling their damaging trade war.
Last week, Mr Trump noted progress in the latest round of negotiations in Washington, including an agreement on currency manipulation, though no details were disclosed.
Sources told CNBC on Friday that China had committed to buying up to $1.2 trillion in US goods, but there had been no progress on the intellectual property issues.
Congress Appropriates Funding for Section 301 and Section 232 Exclusion Process:
Exclusion Process for Section 301 List 3 products Mandated
As the March 2 deadline for a potential increase in the List 3 tariffs approach, the recently passed appropriations bill provides for some possible relief to those currently dealing with the 10% tariffs.
Under the bill, Congress has mandated the USTR’s office to implement an exclusion process for products covered by List 3. USTR Robert Lighthizer had previously indicated that no exclusion process would be allowed for products on List 3 unless the tariffs were raised to 25% on March 2.
However, now the USTR’s office is tasked with implementing an exclusion process within 30 days from the date of the bill’s enactment. This process should be similar to the ones currently in place for the List 1 and List 2 products. Additional funding has been provided to the USTR’s office. The process for granting exclusions for products on List 1 and List 2 has been lengthy.
In addition, the USTR must report to the Congressional committees no later than 30 days after enactment of the Act on the status of the exclusion process.
As talks between the U.S. and China continue this week, we can hope for another delay in a potential increase and look forward to an exclusion process for those currently importing products on List 3.
In addition, the bill also appropriates additional funding to the Bureau of Industry and Security specifically earmarked for an “effective Section 232 exclusion process.” The Department shall provide quarterly reports to the Committees, due not later than 15 days after the end of each quarter, on the implementation of the exclusion process, which shall include: (a) the number of exclusion requests received; (b) the number of exclusion requests approved and denied; (c) the status of efforts to assist small- and medium-sized businesses in navigating the exclusion process; (d) Department-wide staffing levels for the exclusion process, including information on any staff detailed to complete this task; and (e) Department-wide funding by source appropriation and object class for costs undertaken to process the exclusions.
As there does not appear to be any relief in sight for the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum products, this is hopefully a positive step for companies looking for relief from these tariffs.
If you have questions, please contact your BOC Representative.
TRANSPACIFIC CUSTOMER ADVISORY
GENERAL NOTICE – USWC DELAYS
Dear Valued Customer,
Please be informed that due to various factors, below vessels suffer a delay:
- PEARL – CC A. LINCOLN: 7 days late at LAX
- PEARL – APL SENTOSA: 9 days late at LAX
- PEARL – CSCL SATURN: 5 days late at FUG
- BOHAI – COSCO PORTUGAL: 5 days late at TAO (due to phase out)
- BOHAI – COSCO YANTIAN: 8 days late at PRR
- BOHAI – CSCL SOUTH CHINA SEA: 7 days late at PRR
- HBB – ITAL CONTESSA: 7 days late at TYO (due to phase out)
- SCS – OOCL GENOA: 5 days late at KHH
- PSX – COSCO BELGIUM: 5 days late at LGB
- COLUMBUS JAX – CC TAGE: 5 days late at HKG
- CPNW CIMEX1 – APL SOUTHAMPTON: 5 days late at SIN
- CPNW CIMEX1 – CC PEGASUS: 15 days late at VAN
- CPNW CIMEX1 – CC LYRA: 15 days late at VAN
- CPNW CIMEX1 – CC TUTICORIN: 6 days late at SEA
- CPNW CIMEX1 – CC AQUILA: 5 days late at SEA
- TPX CIMEX7 – CSCL AUTUMN: 7 days late at PRR
- NWX – EVER SIGMA: 8 days late at VAN
- NWX – EVER STRONG: 6 days late at TIW
- NWX – EVER EAGLE: 7 days late at VAN
- NWX – EVER SUMMIT: 7 days late at VAN
Delays are due to bad weather crossing pacific and congestion in US/CA ports.
Actions have been taken in cooperation with the ports to improve significantly our transit time reliability.
Thank you for your continued support. For more information, please contact your local CMA CGM sales representative.
Sincerely,
Asia Regional Office – Transpacific Lines
CMA CGM Asia Pte Ltd
9 North Buona Vista Drive #13-01/04 The Metropolis (Tower 1) Singapore 138588
Tel: (65) 6714 2600 Fax: (65) 6714 2699
Business Registration / GST No. 201606722M
www.cma-cgm.com
China Airlines Pilot Strike Enters Fifth Day
by Jennifer Meszaros – February 12, 2019, 9:30 AM (Excerpted from www.ainonline.com)
Taiwanese flag carrier China Airlines remains locked in a bitter dispute with its pilots’ union after a second round of negotiations failed on Monday evening over a list of grievances varying from pilots’ working hours and year-end bonuses to transparency over promotions. Longstanding disagreements over poor management and work pressure combined with labor-law violations prompted China Airline pilots to call a strike on February 8 amid Asia’s Lunar New Year holiday.
Talks between the Taoyuan Union of Pilots, China Airlines management, and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) resulted in a complete impasse Monday after the airline refused to meet the pilots’ demands over working hours. Union representatives want the airline to roster three pilots instead of the current two on flights lasting more than seven hours to counter fatigue and reduce flight risks. China Airlines rejected the union’s demands on the grounds that the extra manpower would result in a spike of annual operating costs.
China Airlines mainly serves regional routes to destinations in Northeast and Southeast Asia; some 40 percent of all flights last seven hours or more. On a seven-hour flight, the union said pilots actually work for at least nine hours and may get only five to six hours of rest time between flights. Following the first round of negotiations, the airline agreed to schedule three pilots on eight-hour flights, arguing its rostering policy aligned with global industry standards.
According to a China Airlines spokesperson, the strike between February 8 and February 11 resulted in a loss of $3.41 million in revenue after the cancellation of 80 flights. Although some 600 of the airline’s 1,300 pilots have participated in the strike, the Taiwanese flag carrier has managed to maintain 90 percent of its schedule.
While pilot working hours remains the key sticking point, the union has also called for China Airlines’ chairman Nuan-Hsuan Ho to step down from his position, which he has held since 2016. In a statement released on Friday, the union said the airline had violated the Labor Standards Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act 33 times under Ho’s leadership. Additional demands include the dismissal of managers who have harmed employer-employee relations; greater transparency over recruitment, training programs and promotions; a year-end bonus comparable to that of Taiwan’s EVA Air; and protection of employees involved in union activities.
A China Airlines Boeing 777-300ER takes off from Taiwan’s Kaohsiung International Airport. (Flickr: Creative Commons (BY-ND) by Chung ChengYen)
We are pleased to announce that 1A Auto has named BOC as their choice for 2018 Supply Chain Provider of the Year(award letter below).
1A Auto, Inc. is a family-owned, online aftermarket auto parts retailer based in Westford, MA with other offices in Taiwan, Mexico, and Kansas. They have a comprehensive automotive video library with over 7,000 videos to empower their customers to make “do it yourself” repairs on the automobiles(www.1aauto.com).
We are grateful for 1A Auto’s partnership and look forward to growing our businesses together in the future. Thank you to all BOC customers for their efforts in working with us as one unit to build world-class supply chains. A wise football coach quoted below summarizes BOC’s core value of a one unit approach eloquently:
“There is an old saying about the strength of the wolf is the pack, and I think there is a lot of truth to that. On a football team, it’s not the strength of the individual players, but it is the strength of the UNIT and how they all function together.” Bill Belichick
