PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID WILMINGTON, DE PERMIT NO. 1635 THE MARITIME EXCHANGE 240 Cherry Street Philadelphia, PA 19106 BEACONWinter 2021 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Volume 31, No.1 www.maritimedelriv.com w [email protected] w /company/maritimedelriv w @maritimedelriv Exchange opposes tariffs on blueberries Interview with Section 201 investigation underway at ITC Steinar Nerbovik by imports in the same industry. An porting cross-border trade . and the President and CEO investigation generally begins with a desire to avoid restrictions and tariffs Philly Shipyard written request from a trade associa- on products U.S. consumers are de- tion, union, or other entity alleging manding year round.” Supermarket damage or threats of damage caused chains need supply 52 weeks a year by an increase in imports. to meet consumer demand, which is “What is startling about this is that growing rapidly as consumers aim the supposed injured parties — the for a healthier diet, but blueberries domestic blueberry growers — did do not grow in the U.S. in the win- not request the inquiry, as is typically ter months. The coalition formed to the case,” said Gary Horlick, counsel oppose limitations on blueberry im- for Chilean blueberry exporters. ports, including the current Section Instead, according to an analysis 201 investigation. provided to the Chilean & Ameri- A Section 201 review is differ- can Chamber of Commerce, the ef- ent than an anti-dumping and coun- Imported blueberries ready for fort resulted from a commitment that tervailing duty investigation, which processing at the port of Wilmington, USTR Robert Lighthizer made to seeks to determine an unfair or anti- Del. Florida and Georgia representatives competitive foreign trade practice. to obtain their approval of the U.S.- Section 201 only looks at whether the In an unusual move, the U.S. Mexico-Canada trade agreement. local industry has suffered significant Trade Representative asked the U.S. “The Republic of Chile is a trusted injury. International Trade Commission to Steinar Nerbovik was appointed president U.S. ally and a valued trading partner According to Customs and Border and chief executive officer of Philly Ship- start an investigation into increased for our region. CACC will vigorous- Protection data, the Delaware River yard ASA and Philly Shipyard, Inc. in No- imports of blueberries under Section ly resist any attempt to imperil this is the largest gateway for U.S. blue- vember 2014. Nerbovik first joined Aker 201 of the Trade Act of 1974. The important commodity,” said CACC berry imports. With a value of $481 Philadelphia Shipyard in 2003 as vice presi- hearing took place on January 12. dent of projects. board President Robert Palaima. million in 2019, Delaware River Section 201 authorizes the presi- In yet another departure from tra- ports handled more than double the dent to implement temporary trade dition, some domestic growers and level of their nearest competitors at Q: Please tell us about the shipyard’s measures, often known as safeguards, shippers have allied with importers ports in Southern California. The sig- pivot to government work and the to support national industries that are and retailers under the Blueberry Co- major training ships contract won in suffering significant damage caused alition for Progress & Health in “sup- continued on page 7 2020. A: Since our founding about two de- cades ago, Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI), Corps FY21 work plan supports 45-foot project situated in the Philadelphia Navy Yard A bit of great news to kick off in the recently approved FY21 bud- they were originally deepened to 45 complex, has mainly built container 2021. get. feet. These non-contiguous areas, ships and tankers for the commercial The U.S. Army Corps of En- “This additional funding will sup- identified as “ranges” in the Corps side of the Jones Act market. By law, gineers FY21 work plan released port the continuing progress to bring work plan, run from just north of the ships that transport goods between two January 20 makes $53.2 million ad- this project to fruition,” said Ex- Walt Whitman Bridge to just south of points in the United States must also be ditional funding available for the 45- change President Dennis Rochford. the Delaware Memorial Bridge. constructed in the U.S., but that mar- foot channel project. This supple- The priority now is to transition from “This is great news and the result ket is only so big, and building demand ments the $22.5 million operations construction to maintaining areas of of stakeholders, the Corps of En- has peaks and valleys. While we are and maintenance funding included the channel that have shoaled in since gineers, and our regional Congres- still pursuing commercial work, we sional delegation working together have made a shift toward demonstrat- to advance this project, which is so ing our value as a reliable partner to the Maintenance dredging the new priority critical to the viability and future of government in the new build market as our port,” said Pilots’ Association for well as in repairs and conversions. the Bay and River Delaware Presi- dent David Cuff. In 2019, we competed for and won The supplemental funds will also dry-docking contracts for two large support the effort to upgrade a num- government cargo ships. This repre- ber of dredge material placement fa- sented our first foray into government cilities. Having adequate facilities is work. critical to keeping the main channel In April 2020, PSI was awarded a and river tributaries maintained to contract for the construction of up to their authorized levels. five National Security Multi-Mission “This is a major step forward Vessels from TOTE Services. TOTE for a project the Commonwealth of is managing the vessel construction Pennsylvania has invested upwards on behalf of the U.S. Department of of $150 million to match the federal With the project priority shifting from construction to mainte- Transportation’s Maritime Adminis- funding for this project. It comple- tration. These ships will offer a world- nance, work has not diminished. The Corps’ Hopper Dredge ments other investments the Com- “McFarland” successfully dredged two separate ranges of the class maritime training platform for our monwealth has recently made in port channel this past fall. Following completion of dredging Wilm- nation’s future mariners and support infrastructure improvements,” said ington Harbor, Norfolk Dredging is under contract to dredge humanitarian assistance and disaster Jeffrey Theobald, Executive Direc- Marcus Hook Range with scheduled completion by mid- relief efforts. March. tor of PhilaPort, local sponsor for the project. continued on page 17 The Beacon 2 Winter 2021 Looking to 2021 and beyond other precautions to prevent infection. Even he announced plans for a $1.9 trillion stimu- those who have received vaccinations. lus package. On his first day in office, he -man The appearance of multiple variants has dated mask wearing on all federal properties. alarmed health officials and the general public. From an economic perspective, these are much As has the news that some people who were needed steps. Yet there’s even better news. vaccinated tested positive for coronavirus. Joe knows the port. This leads to increasing concerns that many Americans, far too many, may be reluctant to In his lengthy Senate career, Biden was a take the vaccine. One recent study found that staunch supporter of Delaware’s ports, and by nearly 30% of healthcare workers — those extension, the entire Delaware River port in- who need it most — are hesitant to receive it. dustry. As Vice President, he continued efforts to champion projects like the Delaware River The zeitgeist of the moment is one of utmost So what does that mean for our economic channel deepening. relief that 2020 is finally behind us. By the recovery? middle of last year, everyone was convinced Though we don’t yet have visibility into the that 2021 must certainly bring much needed At the January Chamber of Commerce of Biden trade agenda, we know he will seek to relief, and by fall — when we were sure that Greater Philadelphia Economic Outlook ’21 re-establish positive relationships with U.S. al- at least one vaccine and possibly two were im- webinar, experts Joe Davis, Vanguard’s global lies and trade partners. We can be hopeful that minent — that hope for a swift reprieve from chief economist, and Pat Harker, president and part of that must include a rollback of restric- our trials soared as if on wings. CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Phila- tive tariffs. delphia, agreed on many things. Yet they par- It didn’t take too long for the balloon to pop. ticularly shared one overarching expectation: No doubt we will find much to debate as President Biden launches new programs and It started when we learned that only 2 mil- we simply cannot expect economic recovery policies. But one thing is certain: he is laser lion Americans of the expected 20 million re- until we get COVID-19 under control. If the focused on ensuring Americans can get out of ceived vaccinations by year’s end. The good pandemic starts to escalate again, this will stall their homes, back to work, and are sufficiently news is that the system is starting to gain progress. They also believe additional stimulus confident to start spending. ground; by late January about 24.5 million measures will help. people have received at least their first shots. New administration – new plans But we are far from out of the water. Health Whether you agree with his policies or not, experts agree that until at least 70% of the pop- it’s clear Joe Biden has a carefully developed ulation is inoculated, we must continue to wear strategy to attack the virus and get the econo- masks, maintain physical distance, and take all my back on track.